In 2021, writers in Oregon State University’s News and Research Communications and OSU Extension and Experiment Station Communications wrote more than 350 press releases.

Popular topics ranged from studying the aftermath of 2020’s devastating wildfires to a walking robot that completed a 5K.

Here are 10 of our most popular stories this year, selected based on importance to the university, media coverage and online and social media attention.

10: Oregon State alum William Allen had a big hand in getting NASA’s Perseverance rover to Mars (Feb. 19, 2021): https://beav.es/UVv

9: Oregon State University is leading a National Science Foundation-funded effort to discover Antarctica’s oldest ice and learn more about how the Earth’s climate has changed over the past several million years. (Sept. 9, 2021): https://beav.es/Ujk

8. Around 75,000 people received COVID-19 vaccinations during dozens of clinics held at Reser Stadium. (March 22, 2021): https://beav.es/JKp

7. Oregon State researchers delved into the causes of devastating Oregon wildfires in 2020, and what can be done in their aftermath. (April 26, 2021): https://beav.es/3iF

6.   Heather Masson-Forsythe, a fifth-year graduate student in the Oregon State University College of Science, is a winner in the 13th annual Dance Your Ph.D. contest organized by Science Magazine. (March 3, 2021): https://beav.es/Uv3

5. After nearly a decade of work to obtain regulatory approval, Oregon State University began construction on a wave energy testing facility to be located about seven miles off the coast near Newport. (June 1, 2021): https://beav.es/Uv5

4. Community prevalence testing through Oregon State’s TRACE COVID-19 public health project reaches more than 80,000 people statewide. Meanwhile, the related project analyzing wastewater for the virus and variants continues in about 40 communities statewide. (April 26, 2021): https://beav.es/Uvi

3. Becky Johnson, Oregon State’s first woman president, began serving as interim on May 1, 2021. (May 3, 2021): https://beav.es/Uvw

2. A bi-pedal robot named Cassie who was developed at Oregon State made history by learning to run, completing a 5K. (July 25, 2021): https://beav.es/UvU

1. 2021 began with a $50 million gift to complete Reser Stadium and ends with plans to implode the west grandstand. (Feb. 4, 2021): https://beav.es/UvJ

 

December 16, 2021