In Brief: 'Split to save' initiative, new NAI senior members, Staff Council recap, 'Convo with Cantwell'

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University employees are encouraged to 'split to save'

Throughout this month, the UAccess UA Employee Main Homepage has displayed an announcement reminding faculty and staff that there's an easy way to boost their savings: using use direct deposit to have a specific amount or percentage taken from their paycheck and sent electronically to an account at a financial institution.

Savings accounts have always been a simple way to prepare for the unexpected. Over the last two years, the unexpected has become increasingly expected, making financial planning even more important. This week is America Saves Week, and the national campaign serves as a good reminder about the importance of setting aside money for future needs.

"If you're not very good at putting money aside for emergencies or retirement or some future goal, you're not alone," said Daniel McDonald, director of the University's Take Charge America Institute for Consumer Financial Education. Behavioral economists, he said, call it "present bias," which is a preference for a smaller reward now over a larger reward later.

"One way to get in the habit of saving is to make it automatic," McDonald said.

Additional resources for faculty and staff:

• Take financial literary classes through Cooperative Extension.
• Get guidance from financial specialists through Life & Work Connections.
• Meet with a certified financial planner from Fidelity Investments or TIAA.
• Take the Arizona Saves Pledge.

Four faculty members have been named senior members of the National Academy of Inventors

Four University of Arizona faculty members have been elected to the 2022 class of senior members of the National Academy of Inventors. NAI senior members are active faculty members, scientists and administrators from NAI member institutions who have demonstrated success in patents, licensing and commercialization as well as in mentoring the next generation of innovators.

The news senior members are:

Steven Goldman | Professor, College of Medicine – Tucson
Goldman led a team that created a bioengineered patch to implant on damaged hearts. He worked with Tech Launch Arizona – the University office that works with researchers to bring inventions stemming from University innovation to market – to patent the technology and then launch startup Avery Therapeutics to commercialize the technology.

Stanley Pau | Professor, James C. Wyant College of Optical Sciences
Pau is working with TLA to commercialize inventions advancing the fields of augmented and virtual reality.

Robin Polt | Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Intellectual property from Polt's lab has led to the launch of multiple startups developing treatments for conditions including stroke, traumatic brain injury and Alzheimer's disease.

Judith Su | Assistant Professor, James C. Wyant College of Optical Sciences
Su's work has led to the development of a technique that can detect single large molecules without the use of fluorescent molecules or quantum dots – tiny semiconductors –  allowing for the early diagnosis of various optical conditions.

Goldman, Polt and Su are also members of the BIO5 Institute.

Individuals who are nominated to be senior members undergo a rigorous selection process by an advisory committee made up of academy members and industry leaders, according to NAI. The 2022 class of senior members will be inducted at the 11th annual meeting of the National Academy of Inventors, being held in Phoenix in June.

Read more about the senior members on the Tech Launch Arizona website.

Staff Council discusses UA4Food and flexible work arrangements at February meeting

The University's annual food drive and a flexible work arrangement survey were among the topuics discussed Tuesday at the monthly meeting of the University of Arizona Staff Council.

See highlights from the meeting below.

UA4Food

Nick Hilton, assistant director in the Office of Government and Community Relations, spoke about UA4Food, the University's annual food drive, which aims to fight hunger and food insecurity throughout Southern Arizona.

The effort, which has been on hold for the last two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, returns next month. It will run March 14 through April 13, culminating with the return of the Stuff the Cat Tran event. Hilton told attendees that he is looking for ambassadors from units throughout campus to hold food drives in their offices. (Read the March 9 issue of Lo Que Pasa for more information about this year's UA4Food campaign.)

Seeking representatives

Melanie Madden, program manager in the Office of Curricular Affairs and vice chair of the council, invited staff to nominate themselves or others to serve as representatives on the council. Representatives serve three-year terms and participate in council committees on professional development, membership, communications and other topics.

Staff members who want to be part of Staff Council but not as representatives of their areas also can join committees.

Flexible work survey

Danielle Barefoot, internal grants program administrator for Research, Innovation and Impact, discussed a survey being developed by one of the council's committees to collect staff input on flexible work arrangements.

The Staff Council was established in May 2021 when members of the Appointed Professionals Advisory Council and the Classified Staff Council voted to merge into one governing body. The group meets via Zoom the last Tuesday of each month.

Read more about the council in this LQP article.

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Experiential learning is the topic for this month's 'Convo with Cantwell'

Experiential learning will be the focus of the February "Convo with Cantwell," a monthly discussion hosted by Elizabeth "Betsy" Cantwell, senior vice president for research and innovation.

Confirmed panelists for the discussion, titled "Experiential Learning: What It Is and Why It's Important," include: Brian Ellerman, founding director of Arizona FORGE; Ewan Douglas, assistant professor in the Department of Astronomy and assistant astronomer at Steward Observatory; and Rebecca Lipson, TIMESTEP program coordinator in the Office of Societal Impact.

TIMESTEP, or the Tucson Initiative for Minoritized student Engagement in Science, is a discussion group that focuses on professional development topics for undergraduates in science, technology, engineering and math fields at the University.

The discussion, billed as a fireside chat, will be held on Zoom on Friday at 10 a.m. Registration is available online. Participants must register for each episode as registration for one session does not carry forward to future sessions.

The most recent "Convo with Cantwell," held Dec. 13, featured a discussion on the ripple effects of disruptions in the global supply chain. The panel of experts included Tom Evans, professor in the School of Geography, Development and Environment, Ken Gyure, lecturer in the Eller College of Management, and Wei Hua Lin, professor in the Department of Systems and Industrial Engineering.

The panelists discussed how a shortage of labor has contributed to recent supply chain disruptions, a direct consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic that resulted in a dramatic slowdown in the production and delivery of goods from manufacturing centers around the world Slowdowns in mining and the extraction of raw materials necessary to produce computer chips, for example, have led to a chain reaction of shortages that affect a variety of consumer goods, including automobile production.

To avoid or minimize disruptions in the future, the panelists said experts are working on developing better tracking options, more efficient inventory management and increasingly sophisticated robotics and autonomous delivery systems to ensure the flow of goods to communities that need them.

A recording of the December discussion and other previous sessions are available on the Research, Innovation and Impact website.

For additional information, contact RII at research@arizona.edu.