University of Arizona researchers will present their work on extreme heat and health at the National Academy of Sciences’ Frontiers of Science symposium, highlighting emerging research on heat stress affecting vulnerable populations.
Heat and Incarcerated Populations
Ufuomа Ovienmhada, an Endowed Postdoctoral Research Associate in Climate Change and Human Resiliency at the University of Arizona, will present research on extreme heat and incarcerated people at the symposium in Irvine, California, March 3-5. Ovienmhada will serve on a panel titled “Heat Stress and Human Health: Tackling the World’s Most Dangerous Hazard” alongside Robbie Parks, an epidemiologist at Columbia University.
Prison Conditions and Heat Vulnerability
According to Ovienmhada’s research, many prisons are experiencing increased extreme heat, and certain prison characteristics make incarcerated people more susceptible to negative health effects. In the United States, 44 states currently do not have universal air conditioning in their state prison systems. In Texas, 70% of prisons lack air conditioning in housing areas. Ovienmhada notes this “major infrastructure issue” is “compounded by a really poor health care system and even further compounded by harmful power dynamics in some cases.”
Research Methods
Much of Ovienmhada’s presentation will focus on her 2024 study from MIT that used remote sensing to better understand air temperature in prison settings. She earned a mechanical engineering degree from Stanford University before completing a master’s degree and Ph.D. in aeronautics and astronautics from MIT, bringing an engineering perspective to climate health research.
Panel Context
Ladd Keith, an associate professor of planning at the University of Arizona and expert on heat governance, will introduce the panel and provide a general overview of extreme heat. Keith noted that “the National Academy of Sciences selected two people from our university to both be on the heat panel, which speaks to our university’s strength in this area.”
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://news.arizona.edu/news/u-heat-policy-experts-present-annual-frontiers-science-symposium