University of Utah

The Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah is about to double its research space. On Friday, philanthropist and cancer survivor Jon Huntsman Senior announced plans for a new research building on campus focused on children and the genetics of cancer.

Jon Huntsman Senior watched his mother die of breast cancer, his father of prostate cancer, and his step-mother of ovarian cancer. Huntsman himself has fought four separate battles with cancer. His goal is to find a cure before his children and grandchildren have to go through the same thing. 

  A new legislative audit criticizes the Utah Science, Technology and Research Initiative for poor financial management.  But a University of Utah official says the school has followed the rules with its U-STAR partnership.

The University of Utah is investigating whether chemical engineering researchers altered images in an academic paper. The journal Nano Letters withdrew the paper on August 15th due to concerns over the integrity of the data.

The latest findings from an ongoing study by the University of Utah’s Center for Public Policy and Administration show that the U’s move to the PAC-12 conference continues to financially benefit the state and university.

Investigators have released a summary of their investigation into the University of Utah swim team and its embattled former coach.  The team was hired by the University’s Board of Trustees to research and review evidence linked to ousted coach Greg Winslow’s alleged misconduct and the University’s response to those allegations.

The University of Utah has named a new dean and director of the J. Willard Marriott Library. Alberta Comer will replace Joyce Ogburn as dean and University Librarian.

The effort to pump water from Utah to Las Vegas heads to court, the University of Utah names a new dean of graduate studies, and the number of Mormon missionaries reaches an all-time high.

  The head of the University of Utah’s Physics and Astronomy Department has been named Dean of the Graduate School.

Dave Kieda helped to build the U’s astronomy faculty by recruiting new talent from across the country.  He also has research projects underway with observatories across the country.

But he says he’ll have important responsibilities for other non-science disciplines in his new job, especially in making up for cuts in federal funding.

The University of Utah has received a 1.9 million dollar research grant to study asthma in children and how better monitoring of the disease could improve health.  The award comes from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute. 

Flory Nkoy is Research Director for the Inpatient Division at Primary Children’s Medical Center, and is leading the study which will involve 10 Utah health clinics and hundreds of local families. Nkoy says this project puts parents in the driver’s seat, so they can control their child’s asthma symptoms rather than the other way around.

Federal budget cuts impact medical research at the University of Utah, Governor Herbert appoints a new UDOT director, and last year’s health record data breach will cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars.

The University of Utah expects to lose 19 million dollars of its medical research budget as a result of sequestration. KUER looks at how that loss will impact the research, industry, and health of the state. 

In the Genetics building, on the wall of cardiologist Dean Li’s lab is a map of North and South Korea. He uses it as inspiration for a pair of graduate students. North Korea, in this case, represents cancer. 

UTA debuts its new TRAX line to the airport, Chevron begins cleanup in Willard Bay, and a U of U researcher is getting an up close and never before seen view snowflakes.

A University of Utah researcher is taking pictures of snowflakes in a way that’s never been done before and the results could help forecasters better predict the weather.

If you’ve ever seen a picture of a snowflake it probably looked a lot like the paper cut-outs made every winter by thousands of first and second graders across the country: unique, but perfectly symmetrical and flat. But according to Tim Garrett, an atmospheric science professor at the U who helped develop a new way to photograph snowflakes, that image is a lie.

The U.S. Interior Department announces a plan to develop Utah tar sands, a sweetheart deal could end up saving Salt Lake County millions of dollars, and the University of Utah begins an investigation into their swim team.

Prominent Utah pollster Dan Jones retires, members of the Clearfield Community Church try and move on after a devastating fire, and the University of Utah plans to bring science to prisons.

The University of Utah is starting a new center to study air pollution and its impacts on health and society.  The U hosted a retreat Monday, bringing academics together to talk about what they have to contribute and how they can collaborate. 

Entrepreneur Jim Sorenson has given the University of Utah $13 million to create a one-of-a-kind global impact investing center.  The Center will be part of the U’s David Eccles School of Business and will provide students with training and experience in social entrepreneurship. 

For Jim Sorenson, impact investing means doing good while doing well.  

Former Democratic presidential candidate Jesse Jackson was in Salt Lake City today.  The Baptist minister and civil rights activist delivered the keynote address for the University of Utah’s Martin Luther King Jr. Celebrations.   Before his address, Jackson argued that the U would benefit from a more multicultural student body. 

The University of Utah announces changes to their admission policy, the Utah Division of Air Quality cracks down on wood burning stoves, and the state officially certifies all election results.

A University of Utah study shows that changes in the earth’s upper atmosphere have an impact on deep ocean circulation patterns in the North Atlantic. 

You don’t have to be at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab to get live, edge of your seat, coverage of a rover landing on Mars.  The rover Curiosity is set to land on the red planet Sunday night, and the public is invited to attend a Mars Rover Landing Party on the University of Utah campus. 

A video clip from NASA’s website describes the entry, descent, and landing process – or EDL – as 7 minutes of terror. 

‎If you bought a pair of those special glasses to view the solar eclipse last month, you might want to pull them out again. On Tuesday, June 5th, the planet Venus will transit in front of the sun, an event that won’t happen again for 105 years. On Monday, June 4th, University of Utah Professor of Physics and Astronomy Ben Bromley will discuss the historical importance of the Transit of Venus. He’s also going to talk about how astronomers will use this event to learn about planets outside of our solar system.

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