Projects & Initiatives

Keywords

Research Themes

Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Laboratory

The NSF-UA Accelerator Mass Spectrometry facility is dedicated to the study of cosmogenic isotopes, with special emphasis on radiocarbon, 14C. The laboratory acts both as an analytical resource to the general community and as a research and training center.

Advanced Resource Technology Group (ART)

ART is an approved service center at The University of Arizona providing GIS related services. Specifically, they provide assistance in GIS project development, data acquisition, and spatial analysis.

Agnese Nelms Haury Program in Environment and Social Justice

The Haury Program supports an array of programming to further research, education, and partnerships for socially just solutions to environmental problems.

Arizona Institute for Resilient Environments and Societies

(AIR) coordinates interdisciplinary groups of faculty, students and projects across the University of Arizona’s campus, from climate science to public policy, law, the arts, water resources and beyond. AIR explores and develops solutions with campus and community partners that will serve human and natural communities across the globe.

Arizona Laboratory For Emerging Contaminants (ALEC)

ALEC provides critical data for public health decision making and water sustainability with their analyses of environmental contaminants such as lead, arsenic, TCE, and PFAS (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances).

Arizona Pest Management Center (APMC)

APMC is an umbrella organization within the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, whose goal is to create a working environment in which the science and implementation of Integrated Pest Management can thrive in Arizona.

Arizona Remote Sensing Center (ARSC)

ASRC works on wide range of international, national, regional, and local projects in which advanced airborne and satellite remote sensing data and other geospatial information technologies are utilized to help address both fundamental and applied issues in natural resource management.

Arizona State Museum

Arizona State Museum’s expansive collections are among the most notable resources in the world for research and study of Native peoples of the American Southwest and northern Mexico that cuts across many disciplines, including archaeology, ethnology, ethnohistory, materials science, climate science, and related fields.

BIO5 Institute

BIO5 aims to harness the collaborative power of five main disciplines—agriculture, engineering, medicine, pharmacy, and science—to find bold solutions to address major challenges in the biosciences, biomedicine and biotechnology affecting humanity today.

Biosphere 2

Biosphere 2 serves as a unique large-scale experimental apparatus housing seven model ecosystems with active research by teams of multidisciplinary scientists.

Bridging Biodiversity and Conservation Science group (BBCS)

BBCS is a cross-campus initiative that addresses the interdisciplinary scientific and societal grand challenges associated with developing and implementing the emerging transitions needed to mitigate and adapt to climate change. It draws on campus strengths in conservation, human health biodiversity, and societal well-being.

Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology

BARA is a unique academic research unit that strives to place anthropology at the service of contemporary society, prepare the next generation of professional anthropologists, advance knowledge of the human condition, and address the pressing issues of local communities.

Catalina-Jemez Critical Zone Observatory

The UA-led Santa Catalina Mountains and Jemez River Basin Critical Zone Observatory aims to improve understanding of the function, structure, and co-evolution of biota, soils, and landforms that comprise the critical zone by examining and measuring geomorphic, hydrologic, and biogeochemical interactions within it.

Center for Climate Adaptation Science and Solutions (CCASS)

CCASS brings together a wealth of expertise at the University of Arizona to support sound management choices in the context of climate change, linking science, information needs of managers, and decision-making.

Center for Creative Photography (CCP)

CCP is an archive and research center that retains the archives of Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, Garry Winogrand, Harry Callahan, and other great 20th century photographers.

Center for Environmentally Sustainable Mining (CESM)

The mission of CESM is to develop educational, specialized professional training, and research initiatives that address environmental issues related to mining activities in arid and semi-arid urban environments.

Center for Indigenous Environmental Health Research

CIEHR is a Center of Excellence on Environmental Health Disparities Research whose goal of is to partner with rural and urban indigenous communities to build capacity to measure and determine the contribution of environmental exposures to health inequities. It supports efforts to address these threats, including research translation and policy development, and employs a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach.

Climate Dynamics and Hydrometeorology Center (CDHC)

The Climate Dynamics and Hydrometeorology Center coordinates interdisciplinary research on hydrometeorology and climate among eleven academic units on campus and assists the transfer of hydrometeorology and climate knowledge to the local community, Arizona, the nation, and the world.

Controlled Environment Agriculture Center

The vision of the Controlled Environment Agriculture Center is to develop controlled environment agriculture as an economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable agricultural option.

Dean Carter Binational Center for Environmental Health Sciences

The Dean Carter Binational Center supports binational research in the environmental sciences aimed at improving public health in Mexico and the U.S.-Mexico Border, particularly by solving problems at contaminated sites and developing assessment and remediation methodologies that are broadly applicable.

Desert Laboratory on Tumamoc Hill

The Desert Laboratory on Tumamoc Hill is a culturally important 860-acre ecological preserve in Tucson, conducting environmental studies which include physiology, ecology, restoration ecology, and arid lands.

Desert Research Unit

The Desert Research Unit performs basic and applied research to evaluate and promote methods for reclamation of water and land in arid and semiarid environments.

Desert Southwest Cooperative Ecosystems Studies Unit (DSCESU)

DSCESU is a UA-based cooperative network of federal, university, and non-governmental agencies studying and managing natural and cultural resources across California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, with emphasis on involving communities and under-represented groups.

Drachman Institute

The Drachman Institute is a research and public service unit of the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture dedicated to the environmentally sensitive and resource-conscious development of neighborhoods and communities.

Earth Dynamics Observatory (EDO)

EDO supports the UA space sciences platform with a downward-looking view to Earth, specializing in satellite remote sensing to monitor and predict changes to the Earth system and inform hazards mitigation and national security in the face of natural disasters, a changing climate, and other environmental stresses.

Engineering Research Center for Environmentally Benign Semiconductor Manufacturing

The Center for Environmentally Benign Semiconductor Manufacturing is a multi-university research center leading the way to environmentally friendly semiconductor manufacturing.

Environment, Exposure Science, and Risk Assessment Center (ESRAC)

ESRAC provides expertise to industry, the community, and researchers in the areas of human exposure science and risk assessment of environmental hazards to workers and communities (chemical, biological and physical), with an emphasis on healthcare-acquired infections.

Environmental Law Society

Arizona Law students support an active chapter of the Environmental Law Society (ELS) by hosting speakers, films, and other events that encourage awareness and further study of how the law intersects with the environment.

Institute for Energy Solutions

IES promotes and undertakes work to: more reliably integrate renewable energy into the grid; develop novel materials for energy conversion, energy-efficient water use and intelligent building technologies; support regional test beds and facilities and study the societal and economic impacts of technological advancements in energy.

Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research

The Tree-Ring Lab is recognized worldwide as a preeminent center for the advancement of tree-ring techniques and the broad application of dendrochronology in the social and environmental sciences.

Lowell Institute for Mineral Resources (IMR)

The Lowell IMR has been created to advance scientific, technological and educational aspects of mineral discovery, extraction and processing, including the environmental and societal issues that accompany these processes.

Maricopa Agricultural Center

Maricopa Agricultural Center has a goal to develop, deliver, and service the best integrated agricultural technologies for all problems faced by Arizona consumers and producers.

Museum of Natural History

The University of Arizona Museum of Natural History is comprised of five distinct collection and research units: herpetology, ornithology, ichthyology, mammalogy, and marine invertebrates.

National Phenology Network

The USA National Phenology Network uses the Internet to bring together citizen scientists, government agencies, non-profit groups, educators, and students of all ages to monitor the impacts of climate change on plants and animals in the U.S.

Native Nations Institute

The mission of the Native Nations Institute (NNI) is to assist in the building of capable Native Nations that can effectively pursue and ultimately realize their own political, economic, and community development objectives.

Natural Products Center (NPC)

The NPC conducts interdisciplinary research leading to the discovery and development of useful natural products from plants and micro-organisms.

Office of Sustainability

The Office of Sustainability works to ensure that the UA continues to be a leader in sustainability among its peers. They collaborate with partners across the University and throughout the community to coordinate environmental sustainability initiatives and communication.

Poetry Center

The Poetry Center has hosted exhibitions, readings, community classes, lectures, and both visual and audio responses to the environment-art movement. The Poetry Center aims to promote poetic literacy and sustain, enrich, and advance a diverse literary culture.

Program on Economics, Law, and the Environment

The ELE program generates research on contemporary issues related to the use and conservation of environmental and natural resources, taking an innovative interdisciplinary approach to pair economic insights with theory, institutions, and practice of law.

Red Rock Agricultural Center (RRAC)

RRAC conducts large-scale field research projects in plant breeding, weed control, plant pathology, insect management, fertility & nitrogen management, soil conservation, alternative crops, and other areas of agronomic interest.

Regional Algal Feedstock Testbed (RAFT)

The UA RAFT testbed contains three 600-L open raceway growth systems and two larger scale raceway cultivation systems for small- and large-scale algae cultivation experiments, which include capabilities for low-heat solar-powered pumping, sumps to store cultures at night to conserve heat and increase winter productivity, and for harvesting biomass and recycling media.

Santa Rita Experimental Range

The Santa Rita Experimental Range is a 52,000-acre range-- the longest continuously active rangeland research facility and among the 5 oldest biological field stations in the United States. It supports research on endangered species and ecosystems.

School of Sustainable Engineered Systems

The School of Sustainable Engineered Systems will be a leader in the improved design of linkages between our natural and engineered systems to sustainably provide material resources, water, energy, infrastructure, and manufactured products through innovative education, research, and outreach.

Southwest Center

The Southwest Center seeks to define, illuminate, and present, through research, teaching, and publishing, the character of the Greater Southwest: the heartland of Arizona, New Mexico, Sonora, and Chihuahua, and its peripheries.

Southwest Climate Adaptation Science Center (SW CASC)

The SW CASC provides objective scientific information, tools, and techniques that land, water, wildlife, and cultural resource managers and other interested parties can apply to anticipate, monitor, and adapt to climate change impacts in the southwestern U.S.

Southwest Environmental Health Sciences Center (SWEHSC)

SWEHSC is composed of scientists from multiple colleges and departments across the University who address environmental health problems associated with the Southwest and investigate the health effects of environmental agents

Superfund Research Program

The mission of the Superfund Research Program is to advance science and apply the biomedical and environmental research conducted by the program for the improvement of human health and the environment.

Sustainable Bioeconomy for Arid Regions (SBAR)

The SBAR Center of Excellence works to optimize and integrate the production of guayule and guar to enable the Southwest U.S. to significantly impact biofuel and other high-value product markets and to improve quality of life in rural communities and Native Nations.

Transportation Research Institute

The Transportation Research Institute addresses the mobility, safety and environmental challenges of a rapidly evolving transportation landscape, building on UA expertise in emerging transportation systems and critical, enabling technologies.

UA Green Fund

Through its Annual Grant and Mini Grant programs, the Green Fund supports sustainability-related projects proposed by any member of the UA community, and encourages collaborations between students, faculty, and staff.

UArizona Herbarium (ARIZ)

ARIZ is a research collection of over 400,000 dried plant specimens, with emphasis on the plants of the Sonoran Desert region and adjacent areas of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico.

Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy

The Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy sponsors policy-relevant, interdisciplinary research and forums that link scholarship and education to decision making. The center specializes in issues concerning environmental policy, immigration policy of the U.S. and indigenous nations policy.

Underwood Family Sonoran Landscape Laboratory

Located on the grounds of the College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture building on the UA campus, the Underwood Family Sonoran Landscape Laboratory represents the reclamation of 1.2 acres of former university parking lot into a viable Sonoran Desert landscape, with high-performance integration of the building and site. It demonstrates low-cost arid land design principles of water harvesting, water reuse, mitigation of desert microclimates and reduction and re-direction of runoff for passive and active storage as well creating an enchanting desert oasis.

V Bar V Ranch

The V Bar V Ranch provides a unique combination of research and educational opportunities for sustainable rangeland management.

Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed

Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed was established in the 1950s in southeastern Arizona to study floods and the impact of soil and water conservation projects on runoff.

Water & Energy Sustainable Technology (WEST) Center

The WEST Center is a world renowned venue focused on advanced treatment and detection of emerging microbial and chemical contaminants in municipal wastes and reclaimed water, alternative energy and related technologies.

Water Resources Research Center (WRRC)

The WRRC promotes understanding of critical state and regional water management and policy issues through research, community outreach, and public education.

Women in Science, Engineering, and Technology (WISE)

WISE offers programs for girls and women ranging from middle school students to professionals, including a conference for middle and high school girls, academic and career preparation programs for college students, mentoring, internships, scholarships, and much more.

Yuma Center of Excellence for Desert Agriculture

The Yuma Center of Excellence for Desert Agriculture (YCEDA) is an innovative public-private partnership that addresses high-priority issues identified by industry stakeholders to improve all aspects of desert crop production systems and economics.