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Jessica Carlson, a graduate student studying Biology at Portland State University, is in Baltimore this week preparing for next Monday's Miss USA contest. Carlson was crowned Miss Oregon USA last November.

Carlson, a high school valedictorian who also earned her bachelor's at PSU, is a self-described "science nerd," and is researching the auditory system of Cuban tree frogs, an invasive species now common in the southeastern United States. Carlson conducts research with Professor Randy Zelick and also serves as a graduate teaching assistant in human anatomy and physiology.

The 2005 Miss USA telecast will be broadcast on NBC from Baltimore's Hippodrome Theatre on April 11, 2005, at 9 p.m. This year, for the first time, viewers have been able to vote for their favorite contestant online, from Friday, April 1, through Wednesday, April 6, at www.missusa.com.

This is not the first time a PSU student has been a contestant in a national pageant. In September 2001, Portland State University student Katie Harman was crowned Miss America. Harman, who plans to graduate from Portland State this spring, became the first Oregon contestant to win the pageant.

Portland State University, Oregon's only urban university, is the largest and most diverse in the state system. The University's position in Oregon's economic and cultural center allows for deep community engagement and the creation of partnerships with hundreds of organizations throughout the region- partnerships that give PSU students valuable learning opportunities as they solve real-world problems of business and community. Portland State offers more than 100 undergraduate, master's, and doctoral degrees, as well as graduate certificates and continuing education programs. PSU serves more students and confers more master's degrees annually than any other Oregon university.