SMALL GRANTS MEAN A GREAT DEAL
Five University of Arizona junior faculty and staff members are working on research projects with seed funds they were awarded through the Arizona Foundation’s Small Grants Program.
The program’s goals are to help recruit and retain the brightest minds at Arizona and enhance the careers of early-career Arizona professionals while introducing them to philanthropy.
The grant committee, headed by members of the foundation board of trustees, worked with pillar chair owners and other subject matter experts to choose the awardees based on highest potential impact. Each received $20,000.
TAKING BIOLOGY TO COSMIC SPHERES
As scientists advance the search for life on other worlds in the coming decades, questions of priority will dominate, according to Betul Kacar. How do scientists select the samples that will be retrieved? Where in the vast skies do astronomers train their telescopes?
FINDING NAVAJO HISTORY IN THE TREES
Chris Guiterman feels an urgency to help uncover knowledge about culturally modified trees on the Navajo Nation. The trees he studies are around 200 years old and vulnerable to drought and fire. They could also potentially be cut for development and road widening.
COMING SOON
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Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Boulat Bash is working to improve a high-throughput quantum random number generator technique that can be used in cybersecurity and digital privacy systems.
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Cooperative Extension Specialist in Ecological Restoration Elise Gornish is conducting a field experiment to determine how buffelgrass affects soil microbial communities and nitrogen cycling.
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Assistant Research Scientist Young Ae Kim from the College of Science is investigating online teaching practices in an effort to improve instruction through evidence-based practices.