University of Arizona in the News

The New York Times Oct. 31, 2020
The capital of sprawl gets a radically car-free neighborhood

Culdesac Tempe is a proving ground for a start-up also called Culdesac, which was founded in San Francisco and moved to Tempe. Started in 2018 by two native Arizonans, urbanists cheered it as a bold and important step toward a future with fewer cars, while suburban developers said the concept could never work on a large scale. Cofounder Ryan Johnson went to the University of Arizona with a full-ride scholarship plus $50,000. This came from the Flinn Foundation, whose Flinn Scholars program aims to keep Arizona's high-achieving high school students from leaving the state.
Brookings Oct. 30, 2020
Race for the Senate 2020: Experts’ views from the states

"A survey conducted by Samara Klar and Chris Weber from the University of Arizona reveals that Arizonans in both parties are more moderate than often presumed. Arizona is a heavily urban state, with 60% of voters residing in Maricopa county, home of Phoenix and its suburbs. If some of those suburban voters split toward the Democratic Party, as they seem to be doing nationwide in 2020 and as they did in the 2018 Arizona senate race, this bodes well for Democrat (Mark) Kelly," writes Barbara Norrander, a professor of political science at the University of Arizona.
Live Science Oct. 30, 2020
NASA asteroid probe stows space-rock sample for return to Earth

NASA's University of Arizona-led OSIRIS-REx mission has successfully stowed the spacecraft's Sample Return Capsule and its abundant sample of asteroid Bennu. On Oct. 28, the mission team sent commands to the spacecraft, instructing it to close the capsule – marking the end of one of the most challenging phases of the mission.
The Conversation Oct. 30, 2020
The scariest things in the universe are black holes – and here are 3 reasons

Chris Impey, a Distinguished Professor of Astronomy at the University of Arizona, writes that black holes are scary for three reasons: "If you fell into a black hole left over when a star died, you would be shredded. Also, the massive black holes seen at the center of all galaxies have insatiable appetites. And black holes are places where the laws of physics are obliterated," Impey writes.
The New York Times Oct. 29, 2020
At least 140 drown in worst shipwreck of 2020, U.N. agency says

About 200 migrants were aboard a boat that caught fire and capsized on Saturday, hours after it had left Senegal for the Canary Islands, according to the International Organization for Migration. Benjamin N. Lawrance, a professor of history at the University of Arizona who has worked with West African migrants, said poverty and high unemployment have driven many people to leave West Africa for Europe, often in small fishing boats that are not seaworthy.
The New York Times Oct. 29, 2020
NASA's asteroid mission packs away its cargo. Next stop: Earth.

NASA's University of Arizona-led OSIRIS-REx mission has successfully stowed the spacecraft's Sample Return Capsule and its abundant sample of asteroid Bennu. On Oct. 28, the mission team sent commands to the spacecraft, instructing it to close the capsule – marking the end of one of the most challenging phases of the mission.
Arizona Daily Star Oct. 29, 2020
Ginny Clements, diagnosed at 15 with breast cancer, donates $8.5M to UA center

Ginny L. Clements, a breast cancer survivor and longtime supporter of the University of Arizona has given $8.5 million to the University of Arizona Cancer Center to strengthen the center's breast cancer patient care and research programs.
CBS News Oct. 29, 2020
What swing states tell us about the state of the U.S. economy

"There is still a lot of pain out there and a lot of people are unemployed," said George Hammond, an economist at the University of Arizona. "We're still more than 100,000 jobs below where we were a couple of months ago."
Quartz Oct. 29, 2020
Old sewers are becoming a modern COVID-19 watchdog

Cities and universities across the world are looking into using wastewater-based epidemiology to track the spread of COVID-19. Ian Pepper, director of the WEST Center and a BIO5 Institute member, is leading a study that uses municipal wastewater to monitor the incidence of the virus in communities across the United States. Charles Gerba, a professor of microbiology at the University of Arizona, is interviewed.
The Planetary Society Oct. 28, 2020
A deep dive into asteroid Bennu with Dante Lauretta

A week after collecting a sample from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu, NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will stow the sample to protect it from leaking into space. Principal investigator Dante Lauretta is interviewed.