The beautiful scene from Corvallis

Yosi Nindita

I am a visiting researcher in Dr. Taifo Mahmud’s laboratory in College of Pharmacy, Oregon State University (OSU), supported by JSPS foundation under Program for Fostering Globally Talented Researchers. My current research attempt to develop a new method to detect silent secondary metabolites from soil bacteria Streptomyces.

I came to Corvallis, Oregon on June 2018. It was Summer, and though the temperature can reach to 35°C, the weather is much nicer than Summer in Japan.

Corvallis is recognized as a Tree city and has around 45 public parks. We can also enjoy varieties of trees and flower with a carpet of green grass all across campus. Season changed to Fall, and the whole town became more beautiful with colorful leaves.

Corvallis is a small college town with population only around 54 thousand. That’s being said, the people here are friendly and care much about the environment. During Spring through Fall, they held Farmer’s Market twice a week in downtown. They sell organic vegetables, fruits, even handmade food.

OSU, founded in 1868, is the biggest university in Oregon, with around 32,000 students enrolled. This year, OSU is celebrating their 150 years anniversary. As a research university, OSU is equipped with advanced methods and technology.

OSU has a lot of successful and famous alumni. One of the most famous one is Linus Carl Pauling. He is the only person ever to receive two unshared Nobel Prizes, for Chemistry (1954) and for Peace (1962). He co-founded the Linus Pauling Institute (LPI) in 1973 to carry out research in health. In 1996, LPI moved to OSU, Corvallis campus. Pauling’s family later trust OSU to take care of his belonging, from his desk, board, notes, even both of the Nobel Prizes. Unfortunately, when I visit Linus Pauling’s office in the Valley library, they only display the replicas of the Nobel Prize.

I am really grateful and lucky to have an opportunity to come to OSU. I still have many things to catch up for my research, and I hope I can tell about it in the next article.