Team of NAU, Flagstaff experts takes second place in global XPRIZE Wildfire competition Posted on September 23, 2026 (September 23, 2026) A group of NAU and Flagstaff-based scientists and engineers just captured a coveted award at the XPRIZE Wildfire Competition, winning $250,000 and global recognition. Team Snuffed won the methodological innovation award and second place overall in the competition’s Space-Based Detection & Intelligence track, beating out a handful of other finalists and an initial field of more than 300 other teams. This is the team’s latest accomplishment on the road to developing hardware and software…
Co-designing a STEM curriculum for Indigenous kids Posted on September 16, 2026 (September 16, 2026) They say success is nothing without someone to share it with. That’s certainly true in Tuba City, an 8,600-person town in the Navajo Nation. “Members of the Navajo Nation love celebrating,” said Anne Hamlin, a research associate at NAU’s Center for STEM Teaching and Learning (CSTL). “They turn out to basketball games, parades, flea markets and fairs in droves. I once tabled at the…
Study finds that far-out solar system objects ‘remember’ their past Posted on September 8, 2026 (September 9, 2026) What can distant, tiny objects in space tell us about how our solar system formed? As it turns out, quite a lot. A pair of new studies, one of which was led by NAU Ph.D. candidate Anastasia Morgan, examined Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs)—some of the most far-flung bodies in the solar system—in an effort to better understand how…
Mapping safe drinking water on the Navajo Nation Posted on September 2, 2026 Since the dawn of uranium mining in the American Southwest, residents of the Navajo Nation have grappled with the grim health effects of exposure to radioactive material. That’s why NAU chemistry professor Jani Ingram and a team of researchers, in partnership with Navajo Nation leaders, have been working to help these communities access safe, chemical-free drinking water. About a…
Nature’s most important climate change defenders are in peril Posted on August 31, 2026 (August 31, 2026) Can we count on forests to continue absorbing the carbon dioxide that’s warming our world? A new study from researchers at NAU and the University of New Hampshire says …maybe not. The study, led by NAU Ph.D. student Darby Bergl, took advantage of an exceptionally rare 20-year record of measurements taken in New England to ask a simple question:…
How geochronology can turn ancient seashells into clocks Posted on August 31, 2026 When it comes to gauging the ages of ancient bones and plants, radiocarbon dating is the gold standard. The method involves measuring the amount of radioactive carbon remaining in an object—say, a bird’s femur or a snail’s shell—to analyze how long it’s been since it died. But Darrell Kaufman, a Regents’ professor at NAU’s School of Earth and Sustainability, said radiocarbon dating doesn’t work for the…