OASE's FarReaching Benefits

Learn more about our award-winning program and interns highlighted below. Specific project outcomes are on our Case Studies page.

INTERN wins a job at Oregon seafood processor

Emily Koch's OASE summer internship at Pacific Seafood landed her a job at the company. Emily, who is studying chemical engineering at Oregon State University, competed with 20 other interns for a full-time job after graduation. Currently, she is working part-time while finishing up her course work. Her focus at the company is on standardizing its management of sanitation chemicals at processing facilities and reducing its chemical footprint.

OASE intern recognized for plan to reduce energy, water use at Tofurky

Katherine Gwynn was named student of the year by the National Pollution Prevention Roundtable for her accomplishments at an internship this summer. Read full story.

OASE intern meets with Oregon congressman

Anna Burton, 2019 OASE intern, met with Oregon congressman Peter DeFazio to discuss her OASE project developing ecolabels for Riverbend Material’s concrete mix products.

OASE program wins partnership award

Oregon Sea Grant partners with the Oregon Department of Quality to deliver the OASE program. This partnership, and their successes in pollution prevention, was recognized by the North American Hazardous Materials Management Association in 2019.

Interns aim to help Oregon companies reduce waste, save money

The Oregon Applied Sustainability Experience is Oregon’s only collaborative internship program that places high-level college students with businesses to accelerate and accomplish their sustainability and waste prevention goals. Read more about our 2018 intern cohort here.

OASE intern and host win award

Jake Price, a 2018 intern at Boeing’s Portland site, identified a company that could recycle the facility's nonhazardous dust, potentially resulting in 84 fewer tons of waste each year. He also calculated that by using a nonhazardous sealant on its 777X jet, the company could reduce its hazardous waste by 1.45 tons a year. These efforts were recognized by the North American Hazardous Materials Management Association in 2020.

OASE intern helps brewery win award

Widmer Brothers Brewing won a national pollution prevention award in 2017, thanks in part to an OASE intern Alan Haynes. He helped reduce the brewery’s annual biological oxygen demand by 10,000 pounds and total suspended solid waste by 6,000 pounds, saving the company over $150,000 per year. Read the full story here.