Tomás Díaz de la Rubia Reflects on Research, Resilience, and Global Connection on ‘International Exchange’

In the fifth episode of International Exchange, Dr. Jenny Lee, vice president for Arizona International and dean of international education, welcomes Dr. Tomás Díaz de la Rubia, senior vice president for research and partnerships at the University of Arizona. Together, they explore how Díaz de la Rubia’s international journey — from his beginnings in Asturias, Spain, to a career at the forefront of U.S. research and innovation — continues to shape his perspective on education, discovery, and global impact.

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Díaz de la Rubia shared that his first experience in the U.S. began as an unexpected family visit to New York that turned into a life-changing decision to stay for college. “I came to spend a year… and that was 43 years ago,” he said with a laugh. He studied at the State University of New York at Albany, where he found both cultural challenges and early opportunities in scientific research. Díaz de la Rubia reflected on the difficulty of adjusting to a new language during his first year in the U.S., noting that while formulas in science and math were universal, courses that relied heavily on reading and discussion were much more challenging to navigate at first.

It was through undergraduate research that Díaz de la Rubia found his calling. He credited the U.S. research university system for offering students the chance to engage with cutting-edge knowledge creation early in their academic careers, something that continues to draw international students from around the world. “There’s no other place in the world that has the same quality of education because of the research enterprise,” he said. “The academic and research enterprises are intertwined in the American research university. That’s very unique.”

Reflecting on global challenges such as climate change, water scarcity, and pandemics, Díaz de la Rubia underscored the urgency of international collaboration. 

“We cannot solve those problems alone,” he said. “Science, research, and technology evolve globally nowadays… we don’t live in isolation.” 

He described his work co-founding the Nexus Institute in Peru, which brought together researchers from Purdue University and local institutions to address the intersections of food, energy, and water. The effort not only strengthened local research capacity but also reshaped how faculty approached interdisciplinary, community-based problem solving.

In his current role at the U of A, Díaz de la Rubia sees tremendous opportunity to expand global partnerships in regions such as Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Indo-Pacific. He also emphasized the value of the university’s diverse research assets—from cutting-edge facilities like the Applied Research Building to cultural centers like the Center for Creative Photography. “Research is also about the human condition,” he noted. “It’s not just about physics and engineering. It really is everything together.”

International Exchange continues to spotlight U of A leaders whose global experiences shape the way they serve communities near and far. To watch this episode and all International Exchange episodes, visit the Arizona International YouTube page.