A collection of news stories highlighting UNLV students and faculty who made headlines locally, regionally, and internationally.
Robust activity at UNLV this fall included Rebel Homecoming Week, which culminated in an Oct. 15 football game against Air Force at Allegiant Stadium. (UNLV Photo Services)
Don’t let the crisp air fool you: While the temperatures are cooling down, activity on campus this October was only heating up.
Students and faculty celebrated the grand opening of new buildings, launched several new community outreach initiatives, published new research across multiple disciplines, and helped both longtime and new voters prepare for the historic midterm election.
UNLV scientists and psychologists investigated everything from ways to up solar energy production and the ranks of STEM professionals to military gambling addiction and the prospect of humans on Mars. Various units rolled out new educational spaces to help shore up Southern Nevada’s mental and physical health care offerings. Both on campus and out in the community, students and faculty hosted panels on federal student loan debt forgiveness, racial discrimination, and the region’s link to Hollywood history.
For these stories and more, check out the latest installment of UNLV Newsmakers.
Women much more enthusiastically embraced the live chat function during pandemic Zoom classes than men, according to research led by UNLV psychology professor and gender development expert Rachael Robnett. The study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, found that women were significantly more likely than men to say the live chat feature made class fun, helped them feel more comfortable participating in discussions, facilitated learning, and would be a welcome addition if incorporated post-pandemic. Researchers hope the data could be a key to broadening underrepresented groups’ access to STEM disciplines as colleges incorporate technology into hybrid and in-person courses.
Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, Lab Manager, Science Magazine, Phys.org
College of Sciences professor Simon Jowitt is among a team of economic geologists who are leading the charge in finding critical metals for renewable energy products in existing mines. As global demand for solar panels continues to increase, so too does the need for critical metals like tellurium — a by-product from copper mining that’s gaining popularity for its use in the cost-saving materials. The amount of tellurium in a mine is rarely reported so, to fill in the gaps and create estimates of critical minerals, Jowitt and colleagues have developed proxies to estimate tellurium content globally.
Mining.com, Oilprice.com, Green Rocks, Highways Today, High Country News
UNLV experts showed no fear of spooky season! From fashion to psychology to culture, faculty members weighed in on multiple aspects of the history behind Halloween.
The role of Latino voters and immigrants emerged as a major hot-button issue for the 2022 midterm election cycle. Media outlets around the world called on political scientist John P. Tuman for insight, including:
VRT News Belgium, Deutsche Welle, Finnish Broadcasting Company, The Telegraph UK, Radio Canada, Fox News, Washington Post, The Economist, Swiss Info, Telemundo Dallas, EFE
And he wasn’t alone. A slew of UNLV political and mental health experts spoke to dozens of publications on topics as diverse as abortion, climate change, partisanship, the economy, and the impact of political ads on children. Here are just a few examples:
Inside Climate News, New York Times, U.S. News & World Report, Politifact, CNN (twice), The Guardian UK, USA Today, Bloomberg, Newsweek, Yahoo!, Five Thirty Eight, Univision, PBS NewsHour, Vox, Governing, Las Vegas Sun, Glam, Gray DC
Robotics come to life for a team of faculty and student engineers as they prepare for the finals of the $10 million ANA Avatar XPRIZE competition.
United through the promise of our work, the state’s two research universities are transforming the state we serve.
UNLV’s Team-Hubo heads to the $10 million ANA Avatar XPRIZE Competition in Long Beach, CA.
