Since its inauguration in the spring of 2021, the France – Arizona Institute for Global Grand Challenges has sought to foster collaboration between the University of Arizona and the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). One such form of collaboration are International Emerging Actions* (IEAs), which explore new fields of research through international collaboration. These two-year projects connect scientific researchers from CNRS with scientists from institutions such as the University of Arizona to initiate joint research projects. Last year three IEA projects were created between CNRS and UArizona.