Thinking big: The university is funding six 'Big Ideas' taking on global challenges

University Communicaitons
Tuesday
A woman speaks into a microphone while presenting in front of a large screen showing a composite image of the sun and a tree ring cross-section. A man stands beside a podium, and a seated judge listens from a table with microphones and water bottles. The presentation is part of the University of Arizona’s Big Ideas Challenge, hosted at the Grand Challenges Research Building.

Charlotte Pearson (center), associate professor and researcher with the Laboratory for Tree-Ring Research, presents at a venture capital-style pitch event on May 12 at the Grand Challenges Research Building. Pearson's project on analyzing tree rings to decode environmental and solar history and strengthen resilience planning was one of six winners of the Big Idea Challenge.

Leslie Hawthorne Klingler

Employees from across the university are teaming up to tackle some of society's toughest challenges through innovative solutions, from delivering health care through artificial intelligence-powered kiosks to using solar-powered satellites to cut energy use. The six interdisciplinary teams selected as the 2025 Big Idea Challenge awardees will each receive $250,000 over two years from the Office of Research and Partnerships to bring their projects to life.

The inaugural challenge invited proposals falling into six focus areas:

  • Data, information systems and artificial intelligence
  • Defense and national security
  • Energy and environmental sustainability
  • The future of health and biomedical sciences
  • The human experience
  • Space sciences

The office received 72 proposals from teams representing colleges and departments across the university. Fourteen finalists were chosen to present at a venture capital-style pitch event on May 12 at the Grand Challenges Research Building, where a panel of leaders from the health care, defense, venture capital and academic sectors reviewed the proposals.

"Thinking big and focusing on the power of combining different perspectives and expertise pushes scientific frontiers in ways critical to advancing the science that matters to society," said Charlotte Pearson, associate professor and researcher with the Laboratory for Tree-Ring Research and principal investigator on one of the selected projects. "Big-picture thinking is best served by bringing together people with wide-ranging experience and expertise."

Graphic for the University of Arizona Big Idea Challenge featuring a lightbulb filled with red and blue gears above the words “Big Idea Challenge.” The logo for the University of Arizona Research & Partnerships appears below, set against a background image of Earth from space.

The Office of Research and Partnerships received 72 proposals from interdisciplinary teams spanning university colleges and departments.

The selected teams will also receive strategic guidance from university partners including Research Development Services, Tech Launch Arizona, Tech Parks Arizona and Foundation Relations, which is part of the University of Arizona Foundation. Support will focus on areas including identification of funding opportunities, technology transfer and public engagement.

ORP will also provide the remaining eight finalist teams with $5,000 each in seed funding to continue advancing their proposals.

"We are committed to supporting all the finalist teams that stepped forward with courage and creativity," said Tomás Díaz de la Rubia, senior vice president for research and innovation. "Each of these proposals represented the spirit of service, collaboration and impact that defines our institution."

The projects selected and their principal investigators are below. Read more about the challenge and the winnings team in a story on the university's news website.

Convergent Digital Health for Remote Access (CoDiRA) | Srikar Adhikari, Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine
This project reimagines health care delivery through AI-powered kiosks, remote diagnostics, "medical selfies" and personalized digital twins.

From Early Earth to Mars: Landscape Terraformation and Digital Twinning at Biosphere 2 | Scott Saleska, Professor, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Biosphere 2 will house this effort combining real-world experiments with AI-powered digital tools to simulate how life can shape planets.

Heat and Resilience Innovation Consortium | Dr. Amelia Gallitano, Professor, College of Medicine – Phoenix and Dr. Freya Spielberg, Clinical Professor, College of Medicine – Phoenix
A statewide consortium will develop climate-responsive health solutions including wearable biosensors, kiosk care, multilingual apps and AI-driven health risk tools.

Invest in TIME! Earth Hazards Research Through Tree-Ring Science and Solar Archives | Charlotte Pearson, Associate Professor, Laboratory for Tree-Ring Research
This research will reveal how ancient solar storms and volcanic events can provide insights crucial for resilience planning.

Making Space for Off-Earth Scalable Cloud Computing and Data Infrastructure AZSCI | Krishna Muralidharan, Professor, Department of Materials Science and Engineering
This project proposes shifting data storage to space using solar-powered satellites, reducing Earth-based server costs, energy use and cybersecurity risks.

Summoning Microbial Allies to Reduce Nitrogen Fertilizer Dependency in Modern Agriculture | Mark Beilstein, Associate Professor, School of Plant Sciences
This research aims to boost nitrogen-use efficiency through microbiome-based solutions, potentially saving billions of dollars and reducing runoff damage.

The Big Idea Challenge will open its next call for proposals in 2027. 

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