An important new study published this week in Nature Sustainability finds that irrigated crop production accounts for 86 percent of all water consumed in the western U.S.—and of all the water used on western farms, by far the largest portion goes to cattle-feed crops such as alfalfa and grass hay. To alleviate the severe shortage of water in the… Read more
Grant
Dr. Fatemeh Afghah receives 2019 US AFRL Young Investigator Award for Autonomous UAV network for Disaster Management
The Air Force Office of Scientific Research — the basic research component of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) — announced it will award approximately $17.8 million in grants to 40 scientists and engineers from 30 research institutions and businesses who submitted winning research proposals through the Air Force’s Young Investigator Research Program (YIP).
Dr. Fatemeh Afghah, Assistant Professor at SICCS was one of the 40 young researchers and scientists to receive this prestigious award. Her anticipated research areas for… Read more
NAU evolutionary biologist uses bioinformatics to fight mosquito-borne pathogens in the Southwest
Illnesses from mosquito bites have tripled in the United States since 2004, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Northern Arizona University evolutionary biologist Crystal Hepp is on the front lines of fighting mosquito-borne pathogens in the region. She recently received a New Investigator Award grant—$75,000 per year for three years—from the Arizona Biomedical Research Centre… Read more
How does snowmelt in the Rockies affect diners in New York? NAU data mapper part of national study to make those connections
Experts estimate that snowmelt accounts for as much as 75 percent of water supplies in the western United States. As the climate warms, however, it’s not hard to imagine a future when declining snowpack on western mountain ranges means less snowmelt. Scientists and water managers have already seen worrying changes in the… Read more
What data teaches about flood forecasting: NAU researcher co-leading crowdsourced app to gauge flood water
According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), flooding is the most damaging natural hazard in the world, and most flood damage occurs in cities. As exemplified by Hurricane Harvey in 2017, this damage is projected to rapidly increase, both due to increasing extreme precipitation events and urban sprawl into marshes and floodplains—so it is critical that cities learn to… Read more
Cybersecurity team at NAU testing ternary computing to secure blockchain technology for cryptocurrency, other applications
April 8, 2019
Cryptocurrency, or digital currency, was introduced in 2009 by Bitcoin, and the market has since expanded to include many other brands such as Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin and Zcash.
Because it is based on unique blockchain technology, a decentralized network that doesn’t require a third party to process transactions, cryptocurrency operates independently from the global banking system. Data stored in a blockchain… Read more