Science and Technology

UA Engineering Alumnus Gives Gift of Life

Jennifer Fitzenberger — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0700

UA engineering alumnus Jim Todsen donated a kidney to his wife, Ae, for their 20th wedding anniversary. The two bounced from the surgery back to ride with their children in El Tour de Tucson.

Searching for Planets in Clouds of Dust

Celeste Barajas — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0700

A UA astronomy research team was awarded a $600,000 grant for technology development in the NASA’s Explorer mission program. The EXCEDE mission involves a new space telescope for studying the dusty regions near stars to learn how planets form and evolve.

UA Honors Expo, 25 Years Strong

La Monica Everett-Haynes — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Dozens of undergraduate researchers will present their original work during the Honors Research Expo, which is now in its 25th year.

Science Teachers Weigh in on Why Our Bodies Grow Old

cruzj — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:23:33 -0700

Cell growth factors and a promising chemical called rapamycin were highlights of a campus lecture on longevity by Janko Nikolich-Zugich, co-director of the UA Arizona Center on Aging. Local teachers attending as part of a writing workshop, supported by Research Corporation for Science Advancement, offer their responses.

Building Mountains in a Bottle

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Scientists are preparing to launch a 10-year project to study water resources, gas exchange and carbon cycling in three man-made landscapes built in a half-acre laboratory at the UA's Biosphere 2.

Tumamoc's Walking Docent Training Starts Saturday

Mari N. Jensen — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0700

UA Science: Tumamoc is looking for people who are interested in science and want to share their excitement, knowledge and skills by volunteering to become "walking docents" at Tumamoc Hill. The training sessions are free, and the first one is Feb. 11 from 10 a.m. to noon.

Diving Beetles Offer Clues About Sexual Selection

Daniel Stolte — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Biologists have discovered a bizarre and beautiful reproductive process in diving beetles. What they found challenges the paradigm that sexual selection is mostly driven by males competing against each other.

Gem Show's Meteorites Give 'Rare' a Whole New Meaning

leverett — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 11:36:20 -0700

The UA-directed space mission, OSIRIS-REx, will send a spacecraft on a three-year journey to collect samples from a near-Earth asteroid. For now, the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show "is a chance for people to see things before they go to the museums and things the museums can only dream of having," said Marvin Kilgore, curator of the meteorite collection at the UA Lunar and Planetary Laboratory.

$4.5M Endowed Gift Supports UA Rangeland Research

Jennifer Fitzenberger — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0700

The Kemper and Ethel Marley Foundation recognizes ranching's central importance to Arizona and has demonstrated its commitment to the state's rangelands – and the UA's research and extension efforts in this field – through a $4.5 million endowed gift.

Bioscience a Bright Spot for Jobs in Arizona

jfitzen — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:11:12 -0700

Arizona's biosciences sector is expanding, boosted in Southern Arizona by expansion at companies such as Ventana Medical Systems/Roche. Ventana, a UA technology spinoff that makes tissue-diagnostics instruments, now employs about 1,200 people in Arizona.

Professor Credits UA Surgery/Cardio Team in Bypass Recovery

Rebecca Ruiz-McGill — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0700

UA professor Richard Michod is three months into his recovery from bypass surgery, and fresh from sailing in the Virgin Islands – a trip he was able to make thanks to a pioneering, minimally invasive, robotic-assisted coronary artery bypass graft procedure offered at The University of Arizona Medical Center.

Winds of Mars Transform Sand Dunes Into Art

jfitzen — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:30:51 -0700

Mars may be a harsh and dusty world, but the Red Planet also doubles as a vast canvas for artful Martian winds, a new photo snapped by NASA's powerful Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter reveals. The high-resolution camera aboard the orbiter is operated by the UA's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory.

UA Astronomer Earns National Education Honors

Jeff Harrison — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Astronomy Camp, run by UA Steward Observatory's Don McCarthy, has introduced students and others to science for 25 years. The American Astronomical Society has recognized McCarthy and his efforts with its annual education award.

Science Teachers Discuss Living Beyond 100

jfitzen — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 09:44:02 -0700

The UA College of Science's popular spring lecture series, "Living Beyond 100," is under way. The next talk, "The Biology of Aging: Why Our Bodies Grow Old" by Janko Nikolich-Zugich, professor and department head of immunobiology, is tonight at 7 p.m. in Centennial Hall.

Blowing Up Stars

Daniel Stolte — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0700

For his discoveries about the lives and deaths of stars, the exotic physics of black holes and the origin of chemical elements, UA Regents' Professor David Arnett has been honored with the Henry Norris Russell Lectureship by the American Astronomical Society.

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Abound at UA

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0700

The UA offers many opportunities for undergraduate students to get involved in cutting-edge scientific research. "Now is the time to apply for research during the summer," said Glenda Gentile, director of the UA College of Science's Office of Undergraduate Research.

UA Tech Park Has Significant Impact on Region

Jennifer Fitzenberger — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0700

In 2009, the UA Tech Park and its resident companies had an economic impact of $2.67 billion in Pima County. This included $1.81 billion in direct economic impacts such as wages paid and supplies and services purchased and $861 million in indirect and induced dollar impacts, finds a new study.

Blip in Night Sky Tells Story of Cosmic Catastrophe

Daniel Stolte — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0700

NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day, taken by Adam Block of the UA’s Mt. Lemmon SkyCenter, shows the aftermath of a stellar explosion that happened 25 million years ago in an odd-shaped galaxy that may have merged with a second galaxy.

Tiny Life Thrives in Dark Depths of Kartchner Caverns

jfitzen — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:51:23 -0700

A team of scientists from the UA has been crawling through the depths of Kartchner Caverns, searching for the smallest keys to life: microbes. It seems they like the dark, moist environment of the cave. Researchers found that microbes in the cave were markedly different from ones found on the surface, above the cave.

In Mackerel's Plunder, Hints of Epic Fish Collapse

jfitzen — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:47:00 -0700

The UA's Mort Rosenblum, a professor of practice in the School of Journalism, traveled to Chile to report on the declining stocks of jack mackerel, whose fate may foretell the progressive collapse of fish supplies in oceans. His story was published on the front page of the International Herald Tribune, the overseas edition of The New York Times.

Series Promotes Conversations Between Artists, Scientists

La Monica Everett-Haynes — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0700

The UA School of Art's visiting artist and lecture series is designed to increase public understanding of the important role contemporary art holds in addressing critically important issues of the day.

Hundreds of Meteorites Uncovered in Antarctica

jfitzen — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:19:31 -0700

A gang of heavily insulated scientists has wrapped up its Antarctic expedition, with its members thawing out from the experience and pleased to have bagged more than 300 space rocks. Tim Swindle, a UA planetary geochemist, took part in the second half of the season and is a veteran of several previous expeditions.

$1.25M Project Could Make Mining, Construction Safer

Jeff Harrison — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0700

A UA engineering research program into new methods of determining rock strength could reduce hazardous working conditions that cause thousands of deaths every year in mining and construction. The program also will address the dwindling number of professionals who work in this area.

Helios Education Foundation Supports 'Algebra Ready' Project

Jennifer Fitzenberger — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0700

To improve the math skills of students across Arizona, UA researchers are designing online workshops for teachers of fourth, fifth and sixth graders aimed at improving the teachers' understanding and knowledge about pre-algebra instruction.

Renowned Science Writer to Open Climate Lecture Series

Jennifer Fitzenberger — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Andrew Revkin, an award-winning science reporter and author, will speak at the UA on Jan. 26. The event begins the Clearing the Air: Arizona's Voice for Environmental Science lecture series, which includes talks by four renowned experts on communicating climate and environmental science.