University of Arizona in the News

The University of Arizona Southwest Institute for Research on Women reports the Tucson Police Department Pre-Arrest Deflection Program referred 59 substance users to treatment, rather than arresting them, each month on average over a three-year period. The institute's director Josephine Korchmaros said that not only are the officers actively implementing the program, but community members are accepting of it as well. "They're an alternative," Korchmaros said.

A number of companies – from clothing to pet care – are trying to appeal to customers who think corporate America is pushing a liberal agenda. An issue driving consumers to seek alternatives may also lose political salience, forcing businesses that have made it part of their appeal to change their approach. Nooshin Warren, a professor of marketing at the University of Arizona, said that if LGBTQ rights became less politicized and more accepted across the country, conservative companies would have to rethink their strategy.

Brother Robert Macke, a Jesuit priest and research associate in the University of Arizona Steward Observatory, built a pycnometer, which measures and compares the density or specific gravity of liquids and solids, to test samples taken from the asteroid Bennu.

University of Arizona Distinguished Professor of Astronomy Chris Impey writes that NASA's highly anticipated report on "unidentified anomalous phenomena" – the formal government name for objects previously been known as UFOs or "unidentified flying objects" – found no evidence the have extraterrestrial origins.

In the 1970s, buying a print of Ernie Barnes' "The Sugar Shack" – the iconic 1976 painting of a dance club that adorns the cover of Marvin Gaye's album "I Want You" and appears in the credits for the classic sitcom "Good Times" – required only mailing a $20 check to the artist's West Hollywood studio. In 2022, the second of two originals sold at auction for $15.3 million. However, it was his decision to sell prints that changed the trajectory of his career.

University of Arizona vice president for Hispanic Serving Institution Initiatives Marla Franco discusses her efforts to help the university become the first four-year university in Arizona to be federally recognized as a Hispanic Serving Institution by the U.S. Department of Education in 2018. She also discusses her on-going role identifying and securing opportunities and funding for students and faculty at the university; her work on diversity and inclusion efforts at the university; and the importance of putting underrepresented Latino students on the path to higher education.

A false social media post implies researchers have developed technology to forcibly vaccinate people by spraying "chemtrails" from aircraft. Besides being technically and logistically impossible, such an effort would be astronomically expensive, according to University of Arizona professor of epidemiology and biostatistics Kacey Ernst. "I can't even imagine the cost of developing vaccine compounds at volumes great enough to deliver aerially," she wrote.

Research led by University of Arizona professor of psychology John Ruiz examines the so-called "Hispanic paradox" – the tendency of people of Hispanic descent to have equal or even better outcomes across numerous health measures than other ethnic groups, even when accounting for socioeconomic status. In a paper published in 2020, Ruiz noted the paradox was global and not tied solely to immigration.

A spacecraft left behind by Apollo astronauts on the lunar surface could be causing small tremors known as moonquakes, according to a new study. The analysis offers new insights into how the moon responds to its surroundings and what can affect its seismic activities. The rumbles were not dangerous and likely would be imperceptible to humans standing on the moon's surface. Understanding moonquakes could be essential to any permanent lunar outpost.

Hurricanes are known for their destructive, whipping winds, fast-flowing floods and soaring storm surge that can take lives and rack up billions of dollars in damage each year. Devastating as they are to humankind, hurricanes also play a role in creating a balance of energy on Earth, as they transfer heat across the globe. Tropical cyclones offer the planet one way to move energy from the tropics to higher latitudes both in the atmosphere and in the ocean, said University of Arizona associate professor of hydrology and atmospheric sciences Kim Wood, a hurricane researcher.