What starts as a simple idea can become something that transforms lives. The University of Oregon Portland is home to research centers focused on solving problems and making a difference. Faculty members from both Portland and Eugene use our campus and facilities as an expansive urban laboratory. Faculty and students collaborate across disciplines and geography to explore bid-idea initiatives with measurable impacts.

Part of the School of Journalism and Communication, the Agora Center is a gathering place for innovation in communication and civic engagement. Projects employ collaboration, experimentation, and public engagement to transform how journalists inform and relate to their communities.

The current research focus for the Center on Teaching and Learning is on the evaluation of instructional strategies in the teaching and assessment of reading and mathematic skills in kindergarten through eighth grade.

The focus of this lab – which includes a climate chamber, mirrored-box artificial skies, heliodons and wind tunnels – is to improve global health and sustainability by improving traditional design practices.

This state-wide program combines teaching, research, and public services to improve the lives of Oregon workers. Research initiatives are related to employment, economic equity, diversity and inclusion, and public policy.

The Oregon Reality (OR) Lab, a multidisciplinary teaching and research facility dedicated to cultivating immersive media as an ethical tool for communication innovation. 

Understanding and promoting mental health and resilience in families is the focus of the center. The Child and Family Center emphasizes research on social-emotional development from infancy through adolescence.

From autonomous vehicles to the share economy, how will cities of the future look and function? Urbanism Next looks at the secondary impacts of new technology on city development, form and design and what that means for sustainability, resiliency, equity, cost and general livability.