In the Spotlight: Jan. 18, 2018

Kudos to these staff and faculty

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  • Best Online Programs ranked Northern Arizona University in four lists for best online programs including Bachelor’s, Master’s in Nursing, Graduate Business (excluding MBA) and Master’s in Education. NAU ranked No. 47 for online bachelor’s programs, No. 72 for online master’s in nursing, No. 63 for the business program (the Business Foundations Graduate Certificate) and No. 107 for online master’s in education. The rankings were based off of graduation rates, level of accreditation, admissions selectivity and academic and career support services offered to students.
  • Con Slobodchikoff, a professor emeritus of biology, has been featured in multiple news outlets for his research in animal communication. He has studied prairie dogs’ communication and is working on an algorithm to translate that communication into English, which then could be done with the vocalizations of household pets. See stories in Mother Nature Network, NBC News, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and The International Business Times
  • David Trilling, associate professor of physics and astronomy, was quoted in National Geographic and in Scientific American because of his research on ‘Oumuamua, the first object to visit the solar system from interstellar space. Trilling and his team viewed the object with the infrared eye of the Spitzer Space Telescope in order to determine the amount of light being reflected to help clarify what the surface of the object is made of.
  • Christopher Edwards, assistant professor of physics and astronomy, co-authored a white paper for the National Academies Committee on Astrobiology. Edwards is a researcher of spectroscopy, thermophysics, surface processes and instrument development. The paper covers discoveries from Mars in the last decade as well as why a new paradigm of multiple landed robotic explorers is required for terrestrial planet astrobiology to progress in the future.
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