University of Arizona Department of Environmental Science

Turn your ideas into impact with the Resilient AZ Grants! 🌵

The Arizona Institute for Resilience is awarding up to $100,000 for 12-month projects that support communities and the environment.

Apply at azcultivate.arizona.edu by June 1st. Link in bio! 🔗

Happy Earth Day! 🌵

At the College of Agriculture, Life and Environmental Sciences, we’re committed to protecting ecosystems, restoring balance, and reimagining sustainability—for Arizona and the planet we call home. ♻️🍃🌊

The Plant-Soil-Environment Lab was proud to host a scientific booth at the ARPA-E 2025 Energy Innovation Summit in Washington, D.C. as a PHYTOMINES program awardee.🔬

Showcasing the largest herbarium XRF scanning project to date, this lab aims to identify US-native hyperaccumulator plants capable of extracting valuable metals from soil. With metal-rich specimens on display and handheld XRF demos in action, they connected with researchers, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and innovators from across the U.S, opening doors to new collaborations!

Stay tuned as they expand this work and set out to build the first open-access database of U.S. metal-hyperaccumulating plant species. Next stop, the ARPA-E Summit in San Diego!

The Center for Environmentally Sustainable Mining was thrilled to exhibit at the SARSEF Regional Science and Engineering Fair on March 8th for a second year in a row!

CESM team members engaged with pre-k to 8th grade students to celebrate innovation and creativity in science and engineering at this year’s fair. 🌱⛏️

Last month, the CESM Applied Research Forum hosted over 65 attendees, bringing together 40% government agencies, 30% industry professionals, and 30% academics to discuss critical challenges and solutions in mining sustainability.♻️

The event featured case studies, collaborative discussions, and impactful student contributions, with nine graduate students presenting research posters and interactive sessions. This forum continues to be a vital space for fostering innovation and partnerships across sectors. 🌎

Last Thursday, we hosted our annual graduation celebration in the lovely Forbes courtyard.🍃🏆Congratulations to all our graduating seniors on your accomplishments! We wish you the best!🐻⬇️🎓

To view more photos from our grad celebration event, click the link in our bio.📧

It’s no mystery that what we flush down the toilet is full of germs, but Environmental Science researchers are interested in the viruses that are coming back out

Dr. Charles Gerba, an ENVS professor, recently found that viral pathogens in human waste can be spread via toilet flush, even when the toilet seat is closed. While bacteria spread is limited by a closed toilet seat lid, viral particles are small enough to spread to surrounding surfaces

Read more about Dr. Gerba’s research and his recommendations on reducing risk of illness in the restroom through the link in our bio

We had such an amazing time at the teaching people of all ages about the world of environmental science! 🌱📚

A special thank you to all of the ENVS students who went above and beyond to bring science to the public:

Abigail Zettlemoyer, Coordinator
Hadar Alsaeed, Participant
Tessa Errico, Participant
Nayeli Jimenez, Participant
Ela Reynoso, Participant
Illiana Samorano, Participant

Thank you to our friends at Maricopa Agricultural Center (MAC) for showing us around their research sites! We have several ENVS Extension Specialists who conduct research at MAC and focus on connecting with our communities through their work

Learn more about MAC and all of the great people there through our link in bio!

Congratulations Ben and Suvi!!👏🎉

At the Student Lunch Ben Yang earned the Outstanding TA award and Suvi Birch earned the ENVS Outstanding Senior award

We can’t wait to see all the things you both accomplish in the future

Thank you to our amazing alumni for visiting and speaking with our students! Your stories are inspiring and keep us excited to keep moving forward

Support our future environmental scientists this !

Each year our graduate students organize a research symposium, called ENViSion, to share their work and network with industry professionals and alumni

This year, you can support these students with donations through the link in bio!