University of Arizona in the News

A number of U.S. cities are experienced their warmest January on record, with spring conditions arriving 32 days before normal, the earliest onset of biological spring in 40 years of charting seasonal trends by the National Phenology Network. "It's a little unsettling. It's certainly something that is out of the bounds of when we'd normally expect spring," said Teresa Crimmins, director of the National Phenology Network and an environmental scientist professor at the University of Arizona.

The University of Arizona Main Library and Weaver Science-Engineering Library, along with the historic Bear Down Gymnasium and brand-new Barlett Academic Success Center, have been integrated into the new Student Success District on campus. Its aim is not only to make libraries more accessible and useful, but to bring all of the student service functions into a single venue aimed at supporting students toward graduation. "The Student Success District pools all student services into a single place.

With the Colorado River teetering on the brink of disaster, farmers who rely on it must prepare to make significant cuts to their operations. About a decade ago, University of Arizona professor of agricultural-resource economics George Frisvold, ran a model that slashed the water allocation for the vegetable farmers in Yuma and neighboring Imperial County, California by 2.5 million acre feet – considered an "extreme shock" at the time. Now, the Bureau of Reclamation estimates states must save up to 4 million acre feet to keep the river from crashing.

Chris Impey, a University of Arizona Distinguished Professor of Astronomy, writes about an international citizen science project called Globe at Night that aims to measure how everyday people's view of the sky is changing.

The University of Arizona Center for Creative Photography will hold a grand opening community day event to celebrate the opening of "The Linda McCartney Retrospective" exhibit, which will make its North American premiere at the center from Feb. 25 to Aug. 5.

University of Arizona entomologist Justin Schmidt, known affectionately as the "King of Sting," died Saturday evening at his home surrounded by family and loved ones following a battle with Parkinson's disease. Schmidt is best known for allowing himself to be bitten or stung by creatures such as bees, wasps and ants to develop the Schmidt Pain Scale, the official rating scale for the pain inflicted by those stings. His research has resulted in over 185 publications, 20 book chapters, two edited books and hundreds of scientific presentations.

The University of Arizona has been ranked the nation's top producer of Fulbright Scholars, setting a new university record for the number of faculty and researchers to receive Fulbright U.S. Scholar awards.

The Hoover Dam produces around 4 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity for around 1.3 million people in Nevada, Arizona and California. Should water levels fall to "dead pool" status, wherein no water flows past the dam's turbines, the consequences would be catastrophic. "(Dead pool) would mean no hydropower, no water supply.

Researchers using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope are getting their first look at star formation, gas and dust in nearby galaxies with unprecedented resolution at infrared wavelengths. New observations led by University of Arizona astronomer Janice Lee reveal a network of highly structured features in the sample galaxies, including glowing cavities of dust and huge cavernous bubbles of gas. In some regions, this web of features appears built from both individual and overlapping shells and bubbles where young stars release energy.

University Distinguished Outreach Professor of Environmental Science Karletta Chief discusses the worsening water situation on the Colorado River and the role of Indigenous groups in reaching a consensus on reducing the demands of all stakeholders to ensure the system's viability.