PDXPLORES: Recent Episodes
Portland State University
PDXPLORES is a Portland State University research podcast featuring scholarship, innovations, and discoveries pushing the boundaries of knowledge, practice, and what is possible for the benefit of our communities and the world.
On this episode, PDXPLORES Podcast Producer, Anthony King, explains that while the Research and Graduate Studies-based interview program will be going on hiatus, there are plenty of informative episodes in the back catalog to listen to and enjoy. Thank you for listening to PDXPLORES!
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On this Episode of PDXPLORES, Ameeta Agrawal, an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the Maseeh College of Engineering & Computer Science, and Antonie Jetter, the Associate Dean for Research at the Maseeh College and a Professor of Engineering and Technology Management, discuss applying interdisciplinary research techniques to artificial intelligence (AI) language tools that fairly and accurately serve diverse communities. Through the Compassionate Computing (or, CoCo) labs, they seek to mitigate text-based biases and inequality attributes within AI to evolve this accelerated technology into natural, equitable and representational digital language.
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On this episode of PDXPLORES, Professor Christof Teuscher from the Maseeh College of Engineering & Computer Science and Andrea Goforth, an assistant professor in chemistry in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, discuss Portland State’s expansive and accessible semiconductor pipeline. With the addition of the Semiconductors and More (SMORE) Center, PSU’s comprehensive semiconductor curriculum equips and connects students to careers within Portland’s burgeoning “Silicon Forest.”
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On this episode of PDXPLORES, Thomas Schumacher, Associate Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering at the Maseeh College of Engineering & Computer Science, discusses employing emerging non-destructive evaluation (NDE) scanning technology to thoroughly map existing structures, from the pyramids in Giza, to bridges in and around Portland. With an eye towards sustainability and environmental conservation, Schumacher sees NDE tools as further aiding in civil infrastructure preservation efforts.
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On this episode of PDXPLORES, Evan Elkin, Executive Director of Reclaiming Futures, a sponsored project of the Regional Research Institute within the School of Social Work, discusses his work creating public health systems enlisting, training and retaining community members as peer counselors within underserved, remote communities, with the goal of fostering equity, inclusion and partnership for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ high school students in need.
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On this episode of PDXPLORES, Assistant Professor of Biology, Anne Thompson, discusses her award-winning research work studying the diverse ecology of microorganisms found in Earth’s oceans. Thompson’s research examines microbial mortality impacts on the structure of oceanic food webs, carbon flow, and cell interactions that create dynamic patterns of nutrient and energy abundance within diverse aquatic ecosystems.
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On this episode of PDXPLORES, Marisa Zapata, Associate Professor of Land-Use Planning and Director of PSU's Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative, discussed her team’s grant-winning work developing a guidebook in conjunction with state departments of transportation, utilizing best suggested and equitable practices when responding to, managing and deterring homeless encampments on states rights-of-ways not designed for public use: a growing–and potentially dangerous–trend presenting unprecedented challenges.
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In this episode of PDXPLORES, Associate Professor of Biology and Biology Education, Erin Shortlidge, discusses her NSF-funded research paper, Evolving the Culture of Biology-Promoting Graduate Teaching Assistant Professional Development to Foster Inclusion, Efficacy, and Evidence-based Practices. With the aim of retaining marginalized students in undergraduate STEM classes, Shortlidge and her team seek to transform the culture of biology education through a series of workshops for administrators, faculty, and staff developing training programs for teaching assistants on-track to becoming future faculty members.
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In this episode of PDXPLORES, Raúl Bayoán Cal, Professor of Mechanical & Materials Engineering at the Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science, discusses his latest National Science Foundation award-winning research, Uncovering Transient Dynamics and Equilibrium States of Particle Aggregates in Fluids, investigating transient dynamics of particles in both an interface and bulk gas and fluids in the absence of gravity. These experiments, which utilize the Dryden Drop Tower and research facilities aboard the International Space Station, will benefit the study of granular media in aggregation models such as pollen deposition, algae growth, and plastic pollution.
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In this episode of PDXPLORES, Assistant Professor in University Studies, Dr. Oscar Fernandez and Ami Sommariva, an adjunct Assistant Professor in the University Studies Program, discuss their recent co-authored study, The Benefits of Reflective Journaling During COVID-19: Contingent Faculty Examine Impacts on Academic Lives and Student-Centered Teaching, examining the experiences of adjunct, non-tenured faculty members during 2020’s spring quarter; the first quarter of government mandated emergency remote teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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In this episode of PDXPLORES, Staci B. Martin, Assistant Professor of Practice at the School of Social Work, outlines her CERA grant-awarded proposal, Exploring the Impact of Community Engaged Work Through Arts-Based Methods with Child, Youth, and Family Studies Practicum Students, Community Partners, and Community Members, seeking to focus on the impacts of Speaking for Ourselves Action Research methodology at practicum sites, and positioning community members as authorities of their own experiences, further developing their awareness of systemic issues and moving them to social action.
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In this episode of PDXPLORES, Ken Stedman, Professor of Biology at Portland State University, discusses his distinguished virology career. From discovering his love of extreme viruses at Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry in Munich, Germany, to heading the Advanced Molecular and Cell Biology Research Laboratory and the eXtreme Virus Lab, Steadman has investigated extreme virus structures, function, genetics, and evolution for more than 25 years. He is the co-founder of the research lab Center for Life in Extreme Environments as well as the Chief Scientific Officer of StoneStable, Inc. Adding to his scientific accomplishments and accolades, Professor Stedman is this year’s recipient ofPSU’s Presidential Career Research Award.
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In this episode of PDXPLORES, Ryan J. Petteway, Associate Professor at the Oregon Health & Science University-Portland State University School of Public Health, discusses the research behind The People's Social Epi Project: PDX. Providing a counternarrative to the settler-colonial and racial capitalist practices of traditional epidemiological research on health inequities, Petteway's PSEP: PDX initiative is a portfolio of three projects centering around youth-led participatory research, music, and poetry. PSEP: PDX seeks to "center the margins'' to advance health and epistemic justice.
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In this episode of PDXPLORES, Kathy Harris, the Director of the Literacy, Language, and Technology Research Group in the Department of Applied Linguistics at Portland State University, discusses21st Century Learning Ecosystem Opportunities: Research and Findings. 21 CLEO is a research project launched to increase the understanding of the complexities of learning ecosystems in employer-supported training and education initiatives for individuals struggling with the digital literacy skills required to navigate life in the 21st Century.
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In this episode of PDXPLORES, Assistant Professor of Russian in the Department of World Languages and Literatures, Cassio de Oliveira, discusses his latest book, Writing Rogues: The Soviet Picaresque and identity Formation, 1921-1938. In Writing Rogues, Oliveira depicts the ways picaresque literature contributed to the development of Russian identity between the October Revolution and The Stalinists Great Terror. Oliveira sheds light on the heroes and anti-heroes that existed on the margins of societal transformation, and the authors who infused their fictional and non-fictional lives with far-flung adventures, scandals and travels through the criminal underworld.
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In this episode of PDXPLORES, Lindsay J. Benstead, Associate Professor of Political Science and Director of the Middle East Studies Center (MESC) at Portland State University discusses her recent publication, Explaining Backlash: Social Hierarchy and Men’s Rejection of Women’s Rights Reforms. Benstead draws on social position theory to explore the resistance of empowered groups to social reform and women’s empowerment, and how messaging campaigns intended to advance gender sensitive policies increase adverse reactions in society.
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In this episode of PDXPLORES, School of Social Work professor, Lakindra Mitchell Dove, discusses her recently published article, "Black Youths' Perspectives: Importance of Family and Caregiver Involvement in the Mentor-Mentee Relationship." The article, and episode, focus on the importance of culturally responsive services and closes important gaps in the existing literature on the importance of family engagement within mentor-mentee relationships in which Black youth are involved.
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In this episode of PDXPLORES, PSU School of Social Work , Black Studies, and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies professor Roberta Hunte discusses the need for systems of holistic, anti-racist perinatal care for parents and their children and how her research is making strives to facilitate the establishment of those systems.
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In this episode of PDXPLORES, Chicano & Latino Studies Professor Martín Alberto Gonzalez discusses the counterstory. As Gonzalez explains, counterstories are a narrative form of scholarly communication that uses stories to disrupt oppressive narratives established by empowered groups. Counterstory does so by pointing to the roles that systems of oppression, like white supremacy, racism, sexism, and capitalism, play in society, and higher education, in particular, by providing alternative narratives.
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In this episode of PDXPLORES, Portland State professors Maude Hines (English, Black Studies, Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative) and Janet Cowal (Applied Linguistics, Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative) discuss their recently published article, "Natural/Disaster: Differential Media Portrayals of Wildfire Displacement and Homelessness in Portland, Oregon," co-authored by Idowu (Jola) Ajibade, Emily Leickly, Marta Petteni, and Stefanie Knowlton. The research explores media coverage of the 2020 wildfires in Oregon and the differential language used to cover those affected by the devastating blazes.
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In this episode of PDXPLORES, geography professor Alida Cantor discusses the water-energy nexus--the ways water and energy resources are physically, socially, and politically intertwined. Cantor's research focuses on politics, power, decision-making, and environmental justice around water resources.
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In this episode of PDXPLORES, International and Global Studies professor Leopoldo Rodriguez discusses the sustainable farming practice known as agroecology. Rodriguez is leading a study examining the impact of agroecological practices on environmental, social, and economic sustainability and health outcomes near Buenos Aires, Argentina. To complete this work, Rodriguez has partnered with small-scale farmers, some of whom have adopted agroecology and some who farm using conventional methods.
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In this episode of PDXPLORES, Daniel Mackin Freeman, a Ph. D. candidate in the sociology department at Portland State University, discusses the results of a study that asked if fine arts coursework is positively correlated to mathematics achievement in high schools at low, middle, and high socio-economic levels. Freeman and PSU sociology professor, Dara Shifrer recently publish the results of their study, "Arts for Whose Sake? Arts Course-taking and Math Achievement in US High Schools," online in Sociological Perspectives.
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In this episode of PDXPLORERS, Professor Shirley Jackson discusses research in which she examines how members of the Black community in the Portland metro region perceived the Black Lives Matter/George Floyd protests that took place during the summer of 2020. Jackson, a sociologist and expert in race, social movements, and gender, is interviewing members of the Black community in the metro region to better understand individual and community sentiments on issues including the participation of white in the Black Lives Matter protests and "Defund the Police."
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In this episode of PDXPLORES, Dr. Óscar Fernández, a contingent faculty member in University Studies at Portland State University, discusses his work during a diversity fellowship at UC Irvine. That work resulted in the forthcoming essay, "Queering a Coordinator's Diversity, Equity, and Illusion (DEI) Work in Academe: Disappointments, Self-Deceits, and Hopes Disclosed," to be published by the University of California Humanities Research Institute's journal Foundry. Fernández opens up about his experiences as a DEI officer for University Studies, how that experience informed his essay, and thinking about DEI efforts within the context of higher education.
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In this episode of PDXPLORES, Carmen Rodriguez, a Ph.D. student in the biology department, discusses the Annual Killifish--a remarkable organism with the ability to survive long periods without oxygen or water--and how the unusual biology of this fish could unlock treatments for macular degeneration.
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In this episode of PDXPLORES, Professor Jola Ajibade discusses research examining how cascading social and environmental hazards might impact communities in the Portland metro region and what policymakers and community members can do to mitigate the risks and promote a more just, livable, and sustainable urban future.
In this episode of PDXPLORES, Emily Ford, a professor in the Millar Library at Portland State University, discusses the lived experiences of peer review, a small but landmark part of scholarly communications. Ford argues that proprietary publishing has influenced many of the processes in the scholarly publishing ecosystem, resulting in a need to reapply the values of human inquiry to scholarly communications. Drawing from her research, Ford suggests how the academic community might address this need.
Fifty years ago, the City of Portland developed a plan for the downtown corridor with a radical vision of what a central city could be. The downtown we know today is the result of that plan. In this episode of PDXPLORES, Professor Emeritus Ethan Seltzer discusses the 1972 downtown plan and how Portland State evolved into an urban-serving university alongside the downtown corridor.
In this episode of PDXPLORES, Harold McNaron and August White discuss how a collaboration with the American Association of Colleges and Universities will provide new information on how students experience community-based learning at PSU. The data provided by the project will support the University's efforts to improve racial and social justice through community and service-based learning opportunities. This project is supported by the University's Community Engaged Research Academy.
In this episode of PDXPLORES, Senior Fellow of PSU's Center for Public Service, Stephanie Frank Singer, discusses a community-based civics education program that addresses the need for citizens from diverse identity groups to participate in election monitoring, an activity that holds the electoral process accountable, ensures the integrity of the electoral system and builds public trust in democratic institutions. PSU's Community Engaged Research Academy supports the project co-led by PSU professor and political scientist Lindsay J. Benstead. Project partners include the League of Women Voters of Oregon and the Oregon Secretary of State Elections Division.
In this episode of PDXPLORES, Professor Elise Granek discusses the coastal zone- transition zones between land, sea, and atmosphere. These ecosystems provide vital ecological, cultural, and commercial benefits. Around the world, they are home to a vast number of species, support critical industries, and sustain the cultural heritage of the people who have called them home. As with all ecosystems, they are vulnerable. Given the intense human dependence on the continued viability of these coastal ecosystems, understanding the impact of human activity on the species that inhabit them is essential to identifying solutions to address the suite of impacts. What are the sources of contamination? What are the potential outcomes for the species impacted by pollutant exposure? And what can be done at the individual, community, and policy levels to mitigate the adverse effects of human activities on these ecosystems?
In this episode of PDXPLORES, Jordan Hallmark (MA, History, '22) discusses the cultural construction of racial identity in late-18th century Saint-Domingue (Haiti). Inspired in part by a historiographic shift known as the “Global Turn,” the last two decades have given rise to a wealth of new studies on the history of Haiti. While these studies have varied in their chronological scope, the colonial and revolutionary periods of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries—when Haiti was known as Saint-Domingue—have emerged as an especially fertile ground for interdisciplinary scholarship. Despite the interdisciplinary richness of this emergent historiography, however, students of Haitian history may be surprised to learn that eighteenth-century Saint-Domingue has received comparatively little scholarly attention from art historians or historians of material culture. Using material culture as a lens through which to examine how social and racial status was conceived and negotiated in the last years of French colonial rule, Hallmark analyzes the collecting practices of two gens de couleur (free people of color) from the parish of Jérémie in Saint-Domingue’s southern province: Jacques Lafond (d. 1797) and Noel Azor (d. ca. 1798).
In this episode of PDXPLORES, Garrett Palmer (History, '22) discusses the 1934 Portland Waterfront Strike. The strike has largely been portrayed as "static", where striking workers clashed with the establishment at the hiring halls and the docks of Portland. While that is correct, it is a bit simplistic; we can glean more from the event by considering how urban space, the relationship between metropole and hinterlands, and the role of unconventional groups played roles in the strike. That line of inquiry ultimately showcases that this event was anything but static, as groups like church parishes, the Communist Party, sex workers, cabbies, Portland's homeless, and a coalition of farmers, fishers, and hunters were crucial to the event. Additionally, spaces like public parks, churches, bars, brothels, construction sites, railroad tracks, restaurants, and grocers all played their roles as strikers utilized the entire city to make the strike a success. It challenges the pre-existing static, Portland-centric, and overly labor-focused nature of the event, and reminds us that history does not happen in a vacuum--people across Oregon were involved with and impacted by the strike.
Lone Fir Cemetery, located in inner Southeast Portland, Oregon, was established in 1855 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Block 14 within the cemetery was a segregated section reserved for Chinese immigrants in the late-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In this episode of PDXPLORES, Charlie Huxley (History, '22) discusses how their research illustrates how community engagement with Block 14 in the nineteenth century was defined by discrimination, aggression, and racism toward Portland's Chinese immigrant community.
During the pandemic, many of the region's frontline workers were, and continue to be, members of immigrant communities. Assistant Professor Pronoy Rai has partnered with members of these communities and community-serving non-profit organizations to gain a better understanding of the immigrant experience of the pandemic and pandemic recovery. A human geographer, Professor Rai's research aims to improve policy and policy outcomes. Rai's work is supported by PSU's Metropolitan Engaged Research Initiative and Community-Engaged Research Academy.
Single-photon camera sensors have the potential to revolutionize digital camera technology. These sensors can capture individual photons at high speeds, circumventing some of the limitations of current digital camera technologies. One challenge, however, is the sheer amount of data generated by the sensor, which is a hindrance to their widespread adoption. With the support of the National Science Foundation, Assistant Professor Atul Ingle is developing algorithms to solve this problem--algorithms that could enable the adoption of single-photon sensors in applications ranging from autonomous vehicles to medical imaging and the cameras in cellphones.
Involving BIPOC experiences and perspectives in multi-stakeholder processes is like making Jazz. In this episode, Associate Professor Marisa Zapata, director of the Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative at PSU discusses how convening a process is like composing jazz music in which stakeholders listen closely to one another and add individual contributions that enhance the whole.
What are the factors that influence commercial real estate pricing? Assistant Professor of Finance and Real Estate, Julia Freybote’s research considers various factors including emerging data streams, investor behaviors, and risk factors such as climate change to investigate asset pricing in the commercial real estate market.
Green roofs provide a variety of benefits including increasing stormwater retention, lowering cooling costs and mitigating the urban heat island effect. However, the ecosystem services provided by green roofs vary by vegetation choice and environmental conditions. Assistant Professor Samantha Hartzell is an ecohydrologist whose research focuses on developing technologies to improve green roof designs, inform vegetation selection, and better understand the value of green roofs.
Wildfires are increasing in frequency and intensity. So, too, are wildfire smoke events. Smoke from wildfires poses serious health risks. That is why the Environmental Protection Agency recommends individuals remain indoors during smoke events. Associate Professor, Elliott Gall studies indoor air quality in order to better understand how to improve building designs to promote health. In this episode, Gall discusses the importance of understanding the chemistry of wildfire smoke indoors and how smoke is transported into buildings.
Ericka Kimball is an associate professor at the School of Social Work at Portland State University. Kimball's research focuses on domestic violence and healthcare domains to understand and develop alternatives to current practices. This work is informed by a "wicked problems" framework that addresses the complexity of interactions between systems at the intersection of domestic violence and healthcare.
Professor Kris Henning's research focuses on helping criminal justice agencies improve decision-making through data analysis and the implementation of evidence-based practices. In this episode of PDXPLORES, Henning discusses efforts to help law enforcement agencies improve the systems and practices used to report crimes via online portals.
Jungmin Kwon is an associate professor of film and digital culture. Kwon studies film and digital media through a lens of queer and feminist perspectives, focusing on how non-normative identities challenge and disrupt existing hierarchies in Korean culture.
Professor Eva Thanheiser's research lies at the intersections of mathematics education, social justice, and critical theory. In her work, she collaborates with teachers, students, parents, and community members to develop and implement anti-bias mathematics education that allows students to connect mathematics to their worlds. In this episode of PDXPLORES, Thanheiser discusses this work and its impact on mathematics education.