Researchers & Research

With $954 million submitted in FY23 for research activities, we are tackling the most pressing and complex challenges of our time, from climate change to planetary defense, and pandemic preparedness to the long-term health of our troops.

Research conducted by University of Arizona scientists already fortifies many aspects of national defense and has the potential to contribute much more to the field. 

The university’s research and development capacities are on excellent footing:

  • Ranked in the top 4% of public universities in research and development, with total funding reaching $954 million in 2023
  • Cleared to work with Top Security and Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI)
  • Home to the nation’s largest optical sciences program
  • No. 1 in astronomy and astrophysics
  • No. 6 in NASA-funded activity among public universities
  • No. 7 in physical sciences
  • No. 28 among worldwide universities granted U.S. utility patents, with 615 as of 2023
  • 2,753 invention disclosures as of 2023

 

UARIZONA RESEARCHERS IN THE NEWS

UA HILL UPDATE FOR Q4 2023 

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Space

Breakthrough discoveries are highlighting the importance of continued investment in space missions. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s University of Arizona-led OSIRIS-REx mission collected sample material from the 4.5-billion-year-old asteroid Bennu that showed evidence of water and high-carbon content and have started studying the sample. Dante Lauretta (Principal Investigator, OSIRIS-REx, Regents Professor) shared that Bennu may offer insight into the origin of life with The Washington Post.

Vishnu Reddy (Space4 Center Director and Professor of Planetary Sciences in the Lunar and Planetary Labs) and his Space4 team identified errant space junk that crashed into the Moon, providing definitive proof that the object was a booster from a Chinese space rocket.

National Security

As the Biden Administration and Congress focus on improving the nation’s domestic critical minerals supply and reducing foreign reliance, Kray Luxbacher (Department Head and Professor of Mining and Geological Engineering) and Lynndy Smith (Co-founder and President of Arizona Defense & Industry Coalition (AZDIC)) co-authored an Arizona Daily Star op-ed outlining how federal support and mining reform can foster a new generation of mining talent and advance greener mining practices, and how Arizona can serve as a mining blueprint for other states.

Additionally, the University of Arizona and AZDIC are partnering on an initiative to aid in the reconstruction of Ukraine, with Sharon Megdal (Director of Water Resources Research Center) and Kim Ogden (Department Chair, Chemical and Environmental Engineering) leading projects to rebuild the country’s energy systems and infrastructure to ensure resiliency and sustainable, high-quality water systems.

Emerging Science & Tech

Following the Biden Administration’s Executive Order (EO) on AI, Arthur “Barney” Maccabe (Executive Director of the Institute for Computation and Data-Enabled Insight) outlined why academia and professional societies should play a key role in AI regulation and how the EO will influence the development of AI with Federal News Network, and 2024 AI predictions with Route Fifty.

Additionally, the University of Arizona’s College of Engineering was recently awarded $35.5 million by the Arizona Commerce Authority to create a facility to support semiconductor, computer chips, optical devices and quantum computing research, further advancing the institution’s role as a semiconductor leader.

Health

To help alleviate the nation’s opioid epidemic, the University of Arizona announced a Methadone Patient Access to Collaborative Treatment (MPACT) study to develop a medical intervention tool to address gaps in current treatment for opioid use disorder. Funded by a $1 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Beth Meyerson (Professor, Director of the Harm Reduction Research Lab in the Department of Family and Community Medicine) will lead efforts to develop a methadone treatment protocol in Arizona that can be replicated in other states.

Environment

As record heat stifled the globe this year, Ladd Keith (Assistant Professor of Planning and Sustainable Built Environments) continues to serve as a leading authority on extreme heat and heat resilience. He recently spoke with Grist about how heat can affect anyone, particularly young people and those in good health. 

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded the University of Arizona’s Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health’s Southwest Center on Resilience for Climate Change and Health (SCORCH) $3.8 million to advance research at the nexus of extreme heat and health to help identify the impact on vulnerable communities. 

Other News/ Reports

Space

National Security

Emerging Science & Tech

Health

Environment

 

 

 

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