On May 29, the City of Springfield City Council and Mayor Christine Lundberg held a work session on the University of Oregon campus to hear from university research officials and tour UO facilities. Participants heard from Kimberly Andrews Espy, vice president for research and innovation and dean of the Graduate School, who outlined the UO’s mission as a comprehensive research institution. Chuck Williams, executive director of Technology Transfer Services, offered participants a picture of the UO’s role in spurring innovation in the economy, providing several examples of local companies that have ties to the university. Chemistry professor Dave Johnson spoke about potential research-based partnership opportunities, and Chris Larson, director of graduate internship programs, spoke about the master’s industrial internship program’s 100 percent job placement rate. Ellen McWhirter, professor of counseling psychology also shared her research with Springfield-area Latino adolescents.

Following those presentations, John Donovan, director of the Microanalytical Facility, led participants on a tour of UO’s Lorry I. Lokey Laboratories.