News

In 2020, WEST worked with Boeing on research to inform airplane disinfection protocols, improving travel safety during the COVID-19 pandemic and into the future.

Working with Pima County Wastewater, WEST Center conducted a PFAS study to evaluate contamination of soils and groundwater due to biosolid land application.  Results helped lift a moratorium on land application, with multiple benefits to the local community.

A short documentary produced by students in the University of Arizona's School of Theatre, Film & Television follows the COVID-19 wastewater monitoring work of WEST Center faculty and staff.

Dr. Joan Rose, winner of the Stockholm Water Prize and Professor at Michigan State University, will spend the Spring 2021 semester at WEST Center.  Dr. Rose is an international authority on water microbiology, water quality, and public health safety, and is actively engaged in work to advance the monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 variants in wastewater.

A new study at WEST Center seeks to understand the impact of water harvesting on soil microbiomes and resilience.

Following the proven laboratory procedures of the WEST Center, an innovative partnership in Yuma County will receive $500K to provide early detection of COVID-19 through wastewater testing.

A USDA-funded 1-year collaborative project will study coronaviruses on contact surfaces at farmers markets, determine safe practices, and provide guidance to small producers to improve local health and safety.

As part of the University’s “Arizona Institutes for Resilience (AIR),” WEST Center is one of numerous stand-out programs and facilities dedicated to solving environmental challenges and ensuring community health and sustainability.

In Episode 251 of NPR Arizona Science, Dr. Luisa Ikner from WEST Center discusses anti-viral chemicals that can be applied and remain effective against SARS-CoV-2 for days instead of hours. Dr. Ikner speaks with Tim Swindle, director of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona, in this 5 minute interview.

Sounding an early warning, WEST Center helped stop a potential coronavirus outbreak at UArizona through testing campus wastewater.