UArizona Research, Innovation & Impact
The Office for Research, Innovation and Impact advances the world-class research enterprise at the University of Arizona, a top-ranking public institution with over $824M in annual research expenditures. Our bold, forward-thinking innovators are focused on transformational discoveries and inventions that address the world’s most complex, pressing challenges.
We support researchers with resources, training, and specialized facilities, and foster collaboration across disciplines through university institutes and centers.
By providing hands-on research opportunities, direct access to faculty and professional mentorship, and programs that help encourage an entrepreneurial mindset, we prepare students to leave UArizona and thrive.
Through an unwavering commitment to our land-grand mission, we stimulate economic development, societal impact, and improved life and health in Arizona and beyond.
The Research Enterprise at a Glance
Our researchers are leading the way in critical areas.
Situated in the heart of the Sonoran Desert, UArizona is a living laboratory. Our researchers are mitigating the impacts of climate change and extreme heat, critical threats to agriculture and food production, and dwindling water and energy resources, all while developing solutions to feed a growing, global population that is fast approaching nine billion people. Our focus is resilience, the practice of designing environmental and social systems to anticipate and integrate with global change.
UArizona researchers are combining the power of interdisciplinary expertise with innovative technology to create new solutions for global health challenges. Our expansive health-related infrastructure includes bioscience, biomedicine, and wellness-focused centers and institutes, Arizona’s only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, and specialized facilities to support the development and commercialization of personalized prevention strategies, targeted treatments, and potential cures of complex diseases that impact our loved ones.
UArizona has an unparalleled history of achievement in the space sciences anchored by Steward Observatory, the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, and the Arizona Space Institute. In addition to leading NASA’s first mission to collect and return a sample from the surface of an asteroid, our researchers are set to lead its $20 million Aspera mission to observe galaxy processes hidden from view until now. Our Space Act partnership with NASA allows for collaborative research and technology development related to human spaceflight and builds the student talent pipeline.
Through strategic academic, industry, and federal partnerships as well as quality education and cutting-edge research and innovation, UArizona is helping to position our state as a world leader in quantum information science and engineering. By accelerating networking technologies and applications, we will transform medicine, data security, defense, computing, communications, artificial intelligence, and autonomous systems.
National security initiatives at UArizona focus on partnerships with defense, intelligence, and industry to advance research and develop the workforce of tomorrow. Through collaborative research and tech transfer, we are improving the agility and resiliency of U.S. national security, from helping predict and prevent cyberattacks to advancing military operations in space. UArizona is home to two hypersonic facilities and wind tunnels that permit testing from Mach 0 to Mach 5.
Beyond people, data is our most valuable resource for expanding human potential. At UArizona, innovative information systems and computational methods are being used to transform big data into knowledge. Collaborative, transdisciplinary institutes and centers are unlocking new research possibilities at the intersections between information, people, and technology. And unique experiential training programs and cutting-edge academic curriculum are preparing our students and university partners for in-demand, data-focused careers.
We're committed to our students, our communities, and our values.
When education comes to life through hands-on experiences and mentorship, students graduate with the skills they need to excel in the workforce. Both in and out of the classroom, UArizona students acquire critical collaboration, communication, and problem-solving skills. Whether through research in the lab, artistic expression on the stage, or even launching an entrepreneurial venture, our students learn from exciting, immersive experiences.
With a multibillion-dollar impact, the reach of UArizona research dollars spans well beyond university labs. UArizona’s research and innovation ecosystem translates cutting-edge discoveries into patented intellectual property and transforms work done at the bench into products available in the marketplace. Through the growth of start-ups, creation of in-demand jobs, and impact multiplier of industry partnerships, we fuel economic prosperity in Arizona.
As Arizona’s designated land-grant university, we are committed to improving and enriching the lives of real people across our state through accessible education and training, groundbreaking research, and unique outreach and engagement programs that make a difference in our communities. With the drive and determination to tackle grand challenges such as environmental sustainability, healthcare innovation, social equity, and technological advancement, UArizona is paving the way toward a brighter future for all.
Connect with Us
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UArizona Impact in Action Newsletter
News
Events
The Innovation Engine
Arizona FORGE
Arizona FORGE serves as a unique innovation community that combines start up acceleration with experiential student education.
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Tech Parks Arizona
Tech Parks Arizona comprises three facilities: UA Tech Park at Rita Road, UA Tech Park at The Bridges, and The University of Arizona Center for Innovation.
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Tech Launch Arizona
UArizona fosters a culture of commercialization through Tech Launch Arizona, the vehicle for moving inventions, technologies, and intellectual property from the laboratory into the marketplace.
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Corporate Engagement
The University of Arizona’s mission is to improve the prospects and enrich the lives of the people of Arizona and the world through education, research, creative expression, and community and business partnerships.
Support for Researchers
Announcements
Link: Friday, November 17, 2023
Dear Colleagues,
The Office of Research, Innovation and Impact has established a Research Security Program (RSP) in response to federal requirements and to strengthen protections of University research and development against foreign government interference and exploitation.
The RSP will work with partners from across campus to implement federal programmatic guidelines, trainings, tools, and best practices for research security.
The program will be led by Taren Ellis Langford, who will serve as the University’s point of contact for research security matters in addition to her role as Senior Director for the Office for Responsible Outside Interests.
For more information, and to learn what you should do to protect University research and development, visit the Research Security Program webpage or contact Langford at tmellis@arizona.edu.
Elliott Cheu
Interim Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation
Link: Monday, August 21, 2023
In June, the U.S. government issued a new interim Federal Acquisition Regulation clause (FAR) for federal contracts that prohibits the presence or use of the social networking service TikTok or any successor application or service developed or provided by ByteDance.
This new interim rule is intended to safeguard the security and integrity of federally funded research due to ongoing security concerns about TikTok. The federal government issued an executive order to remove TikTok from federal devices in February, and Arizona Governor Hobbs issued a similar executive order for Arizona state agencies in April.
Action Required
All University-related persons participating in government contracts must comply with the new interim FAR clause which prohibits the installation and use of TikTok and other ByteDance applications on a cellphone, computer, or other device used in the performance of federal contract work. This applies to any:
- University-issued personal computing device.
- Non-university issued personal computing device used “to a significant extent” in conducting FAR-covered research.
- Device being used while traveling to China.
Please note: UITS has blocked the use of TikTok and ByteDance applications within the university-controlled research environment and removed them from computing devices managed by UITS. In addition, UITS is working with IT staff across campus to ensure these applications are removed from all university-managed devices.
Exemptions and Support
- Questions about compliance with the FAR clause: email Office of Research Contracts at contracting@arizona.edu or Health Sciences Research Administration Contracts Office at UAHSContracts@arizona.edu.
- To submit an exception to use TikTok and/or ByteDance applications for academic research purposes: email the Office of Research Contracts at contracting@arizona.edu.
- For assistance with removing TikTok and other ByteDance applications from your device(s): contact the 24/7 Support Center.
Elliott Cheu
Interim Senior Vice President of Research and Innovation
Barry Brummund
Chief Information Officer
Link: Friday, July 21, 2023
Dear Colleagues,
After many productive years operating as the University of Arizona Genetics Core, we are excited to announce that as of Aug. 1, 2023, our lab will officially be known as Arizona Genetics Core (AZGC).
This change better reflects our scope and purpose as well as our commitment to advancing research, innovation, and collaboration in genetics and genomics in partnership with University of Arizona researchers and investigators throughout the state and beyond. We are excited about the opportunities the future holds and look forward to continuing our mission of providing quality genetic core services and training.
Please update your records accordingly, and visit our website for more information about our lab's current services. You may also contact our facility by phone or email.
Phone: 520-621-9791
Email: azgc@arizona.edu
FAQs
University Employees are asked to disclose their Outside Interests (Significant Financial Interests, Significant Personal Interests, Foreign Interests), Outside Commitments and Substantial Interests so that determinations of what is and is not a conflict can made through OROI. The review processes are available on our COC & COI Review Processes webpage.
The Disclosure Tables and Outside Commitment Decision Tree on our Disclosure Requirements webpage are available to assist individuals in determining what needs to be disclosed. Individuals can also contact OROI at coi@arizona.edu.
Financial Conflict of Interest means an Outside Interest is Related to, or can be perceived to be Related to, an individual’s institutional responsibilities. Relatedness is a defined term that means it may reasonably appear that decisions made by the Investigator in the performance of his/her institutional responsibilities could directly and significantly affect the value of his/her Significant Financial Interests or be in conflict with Significant Personal Interests or Foreign Interests. More information can be found here: Relatedness.
Topic(s):
Research Investigators
Office for Responsible Outside Interests
Enter the account number of a past sponsored project if the current proposal may be funded as a new and separate award but is the next phase or a continuation of the past project.
If you have any questions please contact sponsor@arizona.edu(link sends e-mail).
Topic(s):
UAccess Research
An Approval Holder (AH) is someone who is ultimately responsible for a laboratory or set of laboratories (administratively and operationally) that use or store hazardous chemicals. Usually, the AH is a Principal Investigator. The AH works with their Approval Safety Coordinator (ASC) and the RLSS to maintain compliance with the Laboratory Chemical Safety Program within his/her laboratories.
Topic(s):
Chemical Safety
Research Facilities
Centers and Institutes
Space4
Housed within Research, Innovation and Impact, Space4 is a group of researchers with trusted and demonstrated expertise in space surveillance, planetary defense, astrodynamics, machine learning, data science, business, and law.
Arizona Institute for Resilience (AIR)
AIR includes 15 centers and programs that work together to integrate research, education, and community engagement to develop local and global strategies for solutions to environmental change.
The University of Arizona LGBTQ+ Institute
The Institute brings people and ideas together to conduct LGBTQ+ research, design LGBTQ+ relevant curricula, and develop public LGBTQ+ focused programming.
Core Facilities
Molecular Structures Core
Clinical and Translational Science Center
The Michael J. Drake Electron Microprobe Laboratory