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Research

We ❤️ OUR Researchers


Recognized as a Carnegie Tier-1 Research University, the U continues to develop groundbreaking research on a local, national, and international level.  The combined resources of 18 colleges, 35 interdisciplinary programs, 100 academic departments/ divisions, and 120 centers/bureaus on campus, creates endless opportunities for collaboration.

Our research is also a catalyst for economic growth and innovation, creating over 280 spin-out companies—and 16,000 jobs – from the university’s inventions and technologies.

Research News


Spectrum 2023

The official magazine of the U Department of Physics & Astronomy.

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Sizing Up Courthouse Crack

Ways to measure the character and instability of rock and soil before potential disaster.

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Measuring Black Carbon

Getting measurements with a high degree of accuracy

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Utah’s Warm Wet Winter

The role of El Niño--not much if any.

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Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats Has Long Been in Flux

Utah's Salt Flats: Salt crusts began forming long after Lake Bonneville disappeared.

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New Tyrannosaurus Species

Fearsome apex predator from Western North America at the twilight of the dinosaur age.

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Southwest Sustainability Innovation Engine

A multi-institutional enterprise to confront the climate challenges facing the Southwest.

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An Unexpected Climate Solution

Generating power through artificial muscles

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2023 College of Science Awards

The College of Science is committed to recognizing excellence in education, research, and service and congratulates all 2023 college award recipients.

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Weekend Effect

Large-scale citizen science camera trapping helps assess animal behavioral responses.

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A.A.U. Membership

Utah joins the prestigious Association of American Universities.

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Fellow of the AAAS

Jennifer Shumaker-Perry elected as a Fellow of the AAAS.

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Space Sunscreen

Could dust launched from the moon’s surface mitigate the impacts of climate change?

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Fellow of the AAAS

Vahe Bandarian elected as a Fellow of the AAAS.

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$1M Grant to Chemists

Grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation may help chemists learn how molecules crystallize.

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Collaboration of the Cited

Biology’s ‘highly cited’ researchers collaborate in forest science.

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Pauling Medal

Distinguished Professor Dr. Cynthia Burrows is the 2022 Pauling Medal awardee.

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Ichthyosaurs Migrations

Breeding grounds for massive prehistoric marine reptiles.

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GSL Meteorite

In order to have a meteorite named, you have to have an institution classify it.

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King of the Playa

On a crisp October morning, Kevin Perry pedaled his bike across the Great Salt Lake playa.

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Relativistic Jet

Researchers document a black hole giving off more light than 1,000 trillion suns.

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Clarivate’s Most Cited

Peter Stang is recognized for his exceptional research influence.

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Bonneville Salt Flats

Search for solutions drives race to save Bonneville Salt Flats.

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BioKids

Celebrated childcare and pre-school at the School of Biological Sciences.

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Stolen Ivory

What does “bomb carbon” have to do with elephant poaching?

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Hedgehog Signaling

U of U undergrads work to break open the biological mystery of Hedgehog Signaling.

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Ethiopian Abattoirs

The decline of vultures and rise of dogs carries disease risks.

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Utah F.O.R.G.E.

The future of geothermal energy is located in Milford, Utah.

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Nuclear Recycling

Michael Simpson wants to recycle spent nuclear fuel rods.

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Visualizing the Infinitesimal

Janet Iwasa and Ofer Rog re-imagine the cellular space occupied by condensates.

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McMinn Chair

Christopher Hacon appointed to 2nd term as the McMinn Chair in Mathematics

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Planetarium Internship

U students create new presentations during planetarium internship.

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Toxic Dust Hot Spots

Where is Great Salt Lake's toxic dust most likely to originate?

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NDSEG Fellowship

Aria Ballance Granted 2022 NDSEG Fellowship.

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Armentrout Interview

Peter Armentrout sits down with the Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry.

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STAR-X Proposal

Astrophysicist Dan Wik proposal selected by NASA.

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Research Funding

Research funding passes $686 million for 2022.

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NuFact 2022

The Department of Physics & Astronomy hosts NuFact 2022 neutrino workshop at Snowbird.

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At-Risk Forests

Bill Anderegg quantifies the risk to forests from climate change along three dimensions.

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Crystal Su

Rational engineering of a synthetic insect-bacterial mutualism.

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The Wilkes Center

University of Utah Launches The Wilkes Center for Climate Science and Policy.

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Air Pollution

Utah’s air quality issues have been with us for a long time.

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Ants of the World

Jack Longino sees the world through ants.

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Star Trek

To boldly know what no one has known before.

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10-year Plan

U astronomers tackle the decade’s biggest questions.

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SRI Research: Smoke Plumes

SRI Stream Leader Kai Wilmot, studies increasing wildfire plume height

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Arctic Adventures

Rebecca Hardenbrook and Julie Sherman take on the Great White North.

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Air Tracker

John Lin adapted his research group’s atmospheric model to run as part of Air Tracker.

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Cellular Crosslinking

Caralyn Flack studies cellular crosslinking in chemoreceptor molecules.

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Biomimetic Cephalopods

David Peterman is bringing ancient animals back to life—as robots.

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Moiré Magic

Ken Golden is working on highly tunable composite materials—with a twist.

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Interactive Forest Maps

Threats impacting forests are increasing nationwide.

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How Trees Grow

William Anderegg explores the relationship between photosynthesis and cell growth.

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Carbon Nanotubes

Vikram Deshpande had a hunch that carbon nanotubes held promise as a building block.

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Galápagos Letters

South American correspondent Nora Clayton reporting from the Galapagos Islands.

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Extraordinary Black Hole

Astronomers recently discovered a black hole unlike any other.

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Of Mice and Monarchs

Are California mice eating monarch butterflies?

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James Webb Space Telescope

The largest and most powerful telescope ever sent into space.

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Biological Data

All thinking is done using modeling, whether it’s through language or mathematics.

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Theory Meets Intuition

Will Feldman studies things most of us take for granted.

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Space Plants

Plants are the future of space travel.

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The Frontier of Physics

Physics beyond the Standard Model.

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Arctic Adventures

BBC StoryWorks feature with Jody Reimer, Rebecca Hardenbrook, and Ken Golden.

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Research Funding

Research funding passes $641 million for 2021.

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Fabulous Fungi

SBS faculty Bryn Dentiger explores the possibilities of fungi.

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Darwin’s Pigeon “Enigma”

Darwin's short-beak enigma solved

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Physics Innovation

Yue Zhao Receives Physics Innovation Award.

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Be the Light

American Indian Services students visit campus.

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Chemistry in Pictures

Chemistry is so much broader than just a list of elements.

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Birds of the Philippines

What factors put Philippine birds at risk of extinction?

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Mysteries of the Universe

A five-year quest to map the universe began officially on May 17, 2021.

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Let’s Get Kraken

The Sigman Group launches an open-access tool for chemists.

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Camille-Dreyfus Award

Luisa Whittaker-Brooks receives Teacher-Scholar award.

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NAS Membership

Mary Beckerle receives the significant recognition of NAS membership.

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AAAS Membership

Valeria Molinero joins the prestigious ranks of the American Academy.

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Patterns in Sound

Exciting new math research by Fernando Guevara Vasquez.

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Allergy Season

Climate change is making allergy season last longer.

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Sloan Research Fellow

Luisa Whittaker-Brooks awarded prestigious 2021 Sloan Research Fellowship.

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Sea Ice Science

Ken Golden brings the principles of mathematics to the Earth’s most remote environments.

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COVID-19 Vaccine Panel

Experts answer questions on the COVID-19 vaccine.

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Priyam Patel

Visualizing the Topology of Surfaces

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Lake of Dust

Is Utah’s great lake turning to dust?

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Giant Poisonous Rats

The secret social lives of giant poisonous rats.

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Next-Gen Astronomy

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey is providing groundbreaking insight.

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11 Billion Years

Kyle Dawson and a global consortium of astrophysicists create a 3-D map of the universe.

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HIV Microscopy

Ipsita Saha is using electron microscopy to reveal the dynamic structure in HIV.

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Forest Futures

William Anderegg explains the risks of investing in forests.

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Crab Nebula

Scientists detect Crab Nebula using innovative gamma-ray telescope.

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Hedgehogs and Undergrads

Astronomers recently discovered a black hole unlike any other.

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Courtship Condos

Why is Dean Castillo managing the sexual relations of fruit flies?

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Discover 2019

Science Research Initiative, College Rankings, Commutative Algebra, and more.

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Running with Scissors

In gene-targeting, CRISPR makes a really good pair of "scissors".

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Electrochemistry

Henry S. White - A positive force in Electrochemistry.

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Commutative Algebra

Can commutative algebra help us solve real-world problems?

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TreeTop Barbie

Nalini Nadkarni has created a "Canopy Researcher" version of the popular Barbie doll.

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Research Funding

Research funding passes $540 million for 2019.

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Going with the Flow

John Sperry studies how plant hydraulics and xylem tissue influence regional weather.

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New Physics

Pearl Sandick discusses Dark Matter and challenging the Standard Model.

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Distinguished Research

Professor Molinero’s work is a hallmark of what research and scholarship should be about.

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2019 Research Scholar

The College of Science Research Scholar Award is given annually to one […]

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Associate V.P. for Research

Diane Pataki is now Associate Vice President for Research at the University of Utah.

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2019 Churchill Scholar

Cameron Owen - Chemistry and physics major and student researcher.

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Insects, Bacteria & Ice

Water doesn’t always freeze at 32 degrees and other chilling facts from Valeria Molinero.

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Discover 2018

The 2018 Research Report for the College of Science.

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Plant Genomics

QUESTION: How does RNA decay contribute to gene expression?

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2018 Churchill Scholar

Scott Neville - Mathematics major and student researcher.

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Under Pressure

Unravelling the mystery of a fundamental property of lithium.

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