University of Arizona in the News

Arizona Public Media Tuesday
University of Arizona opens new office in Washington DC

University of Arizona President Robert C. Robbins is fronting a delegation of University leaders in the nation's capital this week. The university is hosting a series of meetings on issues ranging from name, image and likeness rules for student-athletes to the development of data science. Robbins says the new Center for Outreach and Collaboration will put UArizona front and center amid national policy makers. "It also gives us an opportunity like we're doing all week to showcase some of the really exciting things the university is doing," said Robbins.
Salon Tuesday
Odd methane plumes on one of Saturn's moons may be evidence of life, study says

Peculiar readings from geysers near the South Pole on Saturn's moon Enceladus have spurred researchers to probe the possibility that life might exist on the bizarre world in the outer solar system. In order to figure out why Enceladus was spewing methane, researchers at the University of Arizona and colleagues in France constructed mathematical models to calculate the probability that different natural processes might explain the Cassini data. "We wanted to know: Could Earth-like microbes that 'eat' the dihydrogen and produce methane explain the surprisingly large amount of methane detected by Cassini?" said Régis Ferrière, an associate professor in the University of Arizona Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and one of two lead authors of the study published in Nature Astronomy in July. "Searching for such microbes, known as methanogens, at Enceladus' seafloor would require extremely challenging deep-dive missions that are not in sight for several decades."
Arizona Daily Star Tuesday
Market boom, big donors push UA's endowment past $1 billion for first time

University of Arizona causes inspired record-breaking support during the 2020-21 academic year, setting new benchmarks for overall giving and taking the endowment over $1 billion. Gifts and commitments reached $345.2 million. The previous high was in fiscal year 2019, when alumni and friends gave and pledged $334.6 million to support their areas of passion on campus.
High Country News Monday
In Arizona, a radical change in juvenile detention

Ruxandra Guidi, an assistant professor in the University of Arizona School of Journalism, writes about how the Cochise County town of St. John's transformed an underused juvenile facility into a safe space for teens.
The Washington Post Monday
How to have a lush yard without using too much water

Across the United States, native plants have become an increasingly popular landscaping option, particularly in drier areas. In the Western United States, where irrigation is the norm, native grass will perform better, says master gardener Mike Hauser with the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension.
The Guardian Monday
The Texas checkpoint that forces migrants into dangerous terrain – and death

"Missing in Brooks County," a documentary by filmmakers and University of Arizona School of Theatre, Film & Television faculty Lisa Molomot and Jeff Bemiss, is reviewed.
Arizona Daily Star Sept. 19, 2021
In an effort to diversify faculty, UA launches postdoctoral fellowship program

This fall, the University of Arizona will launch a Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship Program – which will provide early career scholars with faculty mentoring, professional development and academic networking opportunities – as part of an intentional effort to diversify its faculty.
Los Angeles Times Sept. 19, 2021
FBI says fortune seized in Beverly Hills raid was criminals' loot. Owners say: Where’s the proof?

Six months after the FBI seized money and valuables from some 800 customers of a safe deposit box rental business in a Los Angeles strip mall, the Bureau and U.S. attorney's office in L.A. have produced no evidence of criminal wrongdoing by the vast majority of box holders whose belongings the government is trying to keep. Jane Bambauer, a law professor at the University of Arizona, said that under the restrictions [the judge] imposed on the search, the use of drug dogs to sniff cash inside the boxes was a 4th Amendment violation. "In terms of just real-world, commonsense assessments of how this should work, what happened was wrong," Bambauer said. "I think it is also pretty clearly wrong on 4th Amendment doctrine terms."
Archinect Sept. 17, 2021
The University of Arizona launches Indigenous Resilience Center, addressing environmental issues

The University of Arizona will partner with Native American nations to address the environmental challenges faced by those communities, offering expertise in environmental research, renewable technologies, and agriculture through the new Indigenous Resilience Center. "They are the ones identifying their priorities and there are indigenous scientists leading the way with indigenous students involved with the research," said center director Karletta Chief, an associate professor of environmental science.
High Country News Sept. 17, 2021
A monsoon summer in the Southwest

Do you think you know the monsoon? Professional forecasters' predictions for this year's monsoon season are "basically a scientific shrug," according to UArizona climate researchers. Now, members of the public can put their own monsoon predictions to the test in a fantasy monsoon game.