Research & Academics

June 20, 2019

One of the biggest and most complex challenges facing Arizona’s institutions of higher education is the need to produce a more interdisciplinary workforce for STEM fields that is inclusive and representative of the state’s diverse populations. A new multicultural research center at Northern Arizona University built on the field of materials science promises to help meet that challenge on both fronts.

The NAU Center for Materials Interfaces in Research and Applications (¡MIRA!) will develop advanced functional materials through the exploration of materials interfaces.… Read more

June 10, 2019

On a planet that just hit an atmospheric carbon concentration of 415 ppm, accurately predicting where the carbon is going in the future has never been more important.

Much of what we know about where carbon will be on the globe in 12, 25 or 100 years is due to innovative predictive modeling tools like the ones researcher Yiqi Luo develops at Northern Arizona University’s Center for Ecosystem Science and Society (Ecoss). Many carbon cycle models, or computer programs that run equations to… Read more

May 28, 2019

Every day, Americans rely on engineered systems such as bridges, buildings and offshore structures that are subject to extreme weather, earthquakes and a range of other conditions. Knowing how materials used in these systems respond to stressors is crucial to creating components that successfully and efficiently do the job.

Engineers rely on mathematical models to predict how the materials they use will react to stressors. However, some “state-of-the-art” models for ductile metals that have been in place for years have done an inadequate job… Read more

May 23, 2019

When it comes to wildfire, where a forest stores its carbon matters. Older, larger trees store more carbon in their wood and leaves than younger, smaller trees—and when they burn, those older trees release more carbon into the atmosphere that is harder to replace.

But in the United States, most forest management policies don’t account for the elevated risk large, hot fires pose to those older trees, researchers from the University of New Mexico, the U.S. Forest Service and the Center for Ecosystem… Read more

May 21, 2019

Northern Arizona University will begin offering a bachelor’s degree in health sciences at NAU Yuma beginning in fall 2020. NAU’s B.S. in Health Sciences program is offered online in a 90/30 format where students can transfer up to 90 credits from applicable community college programs into the degree completion program at NAU. Students then complete their bachelor’s degree with 30 credits at NAU. Beginning in fall 2020, NAU Yuma will host an on-site program for this degree which has shown high student demand statewide,… Read more