College of Mines and Earth Sciences

The University of Utah celebrated the opening of the L. S. Skaggs Applied Science Building, a new space where researchers and students address critical challenges—from predicting dangerous weather to tracking the air we breathe to advancing semiconductor technology.

As Great Salt Lake’s levels continue to sag, yet another strange phenomenon has surfaced, offering Utah scientists more opportunities to plumb the vast saline lake’s secrets. Phragmites-covered mounds in recent years have appeared on the drying playa off the lake’s southeast shore. After several years of scratching their heads, University of Utah geoscientists, deploying a network of piezometers and aerial electromagnetic surveys, are now finding out what’s going on under the lakebed that is creating these reed-choked oases.

The Wilkes Center for Climate Science & Policy at the University of Utah has selected Fielding Norton as its new managing director and John Lin as scientific director to lead the center’s increasing focus on translating climate research into real-world solutions. Norton, a climate scientist and startup investor and advisor, will head the center's overall strategy and operations, while Lin, a U atmospheric sciences professor, will oversee its research initiatives and academic programs.