MORE NEWS Research & Academics
Understanding climate change
As the Arctic warms and the permafrost thaws at a rapid rate, significant amounts of methane and carbon dioxide are being released into the atmosphere—a phenomenon that has the potential to accelerate climate change at unprecedented rates. The question is: How rapidly are these carbon greenhouse gases being released, and what does that mean for the future of Earth? With the help of two grants, totaling close to $5 million dollars and including the largest privately sponsored research award in NAU’s history, Regents’ professor Ted Schuur hopes to find out. 
NAU a partner on groundbreaking Center for Braiding Indigenous Knowledges and Science
The Center for Braiding Indigenous Knowledges and Science (CBIKS)—a five-year, $30 million international Science and Technology Center funded by the National Science Foundation, will focus on connecting Indigenous knowledges with “western” sciences to address some of the more pressing issues affecting people worldwide. The center will work on complex, evolving challenges brought on by climate change, including dire impacts affecting land, water and plant and animal life; the danger posed to irreplaceable archaeological sites, sacred places and cultural heritage; and the challenges of changing food systems, all of which disproportionately affect Indigenous communities. Seven ways NAU and SRP are helping build stronger utility systems in Arizona
The utility grid is changing. Electric vehicles mean greater demands on the grid at less predictable times and mean that fueling stations are going to look different in the coming decades. Wildfires and invasive plant species are putting watersheds at risk. To ensure that water and electricity still gets to Arizonans, NAU and the Salt River Project have partnered on a number of research projects that tackle the specific problems SRP is facing in Arizona. Learn more about how these researchers are tackling water quality, how to build an electrical grid that can handle the EVs and the importance of rehabilitating the “living skin” in desert ecosystems that have been overrun by invasive plants. Campus & Community
Come one, come all: It's the Flagstaff Festival of Science!
Whether you’re interested in robotics, prehistoric life on Earth, climate change, building things or drinking beer, there is something for everyone at this year’s Festival of Science—a 10-day program which consists of approximately 100 science-based experiences that are all free and open to the community. Celebrating its 34th year, learn more about the jam-packed week-and-a-half of events, the NAU professors involved and read why Festival of Science board member and faculty member Chrissina Burke thinks these are “the 10 best days of the year”. 
‘Broadening my horizons:' NAU welcomes Flinn Scholar to Class of 2027
Freshman Michael-Anthony Rodriguez might be a biology teacher. That's his game plan for now, at least—he's passionate about education and ensuring students from rural areas have access to the educational experiences that will help them be successful. But he's at NAU to learn who he is as well, and the prestigious Flinn Scholarship will help him get there. 
How OT students find connection and empathy through art
Students in NAU’s Human Anatomy course routinely work with donor bodies in preparation for a career in health care. The experience is not one the students take lightly; the class emphasizes the uniqueness of the human body and the interconnectedness of the human system. To honor their donors, each student creates a work of art at the end of the semester. Read more about two students’ art. 
