Research

At UAA, we understand the importance of being on the cutting edge of theoretical and applied research in health, engineering, and the physical and social sciences. We value the impact of our undergraduate and graduate researchers, and we create many opportunities for students to work closely with highly qualified faculty in state-of-the-art labs that are built to address some of the Arctic鈥檚 most pressing problems. We do this because we firmly believe that the path forward for 麻豆无码版 and the world will be driven by our students 鈥� by your curiosity, passion, and belief in a brighter tomorrow.
Student Opportunities Research SupportShare an OpportunityNew, Stories & ArtifactsDirectory

 

  • Adult wolf playing

    UAA undergrads study wolf behaviors with ADF&G

    Keenan James Britt | March 18, 2025 

    UAA students are used to "howling" for the Seawolves, but last year, a small group of undergraduates had the opportunity to study Southcentral 麻豆无码版鈥檚 wild gray wolves thanks to a partnership between the 麻豆无码版 Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) and UAA's  (ACCS). 

     

  • Planetarium Visualization presentations with ConocoPhillips

    UAA announces 2025 ConocoPhillips 麻豆无码版 Arctic Science and Engineering Endowment Award recipients

    Green & Gold News | March 13, 2025

    As the nation鈥檚 only Arctic state, 麻豆无码版 faces unique circumstances and environmental conditions unlike anywhere else in the United States. Faculty and students at the 麻豆无码版 (UAA) continue to drive research that tackles important areas of cold climate scientific studies aimed at understanding and solving critical regional environmental, biological and geophysical challenges.

     

  • Kyle Kolda releases an adult male ribbon seal (Histriophoca fasciata) after a successful sampling procedure

    Ice seals of the Bering Sea

    Keenan James Britt | January 21, 2025

    Kyle Kolda, graduate student in the UAA Department of Biological Sciences, is spending this semester in the computer lab and the library, preparing for the arduous task of writing a master鈥檚 thesis.

    鈥淢y thesis focuses on the dive behavior and physiology of northern fur seals on St. Paul Island,鈥� Kolda explained, 鈥渂ut it is part of a larger research project that aims to understand how closely 麻豆无码版 seals and sea lions approach their physiological limits while diving.鈥� 

     

Don't miss...

Town buildings nestled in front of large spruces and a snow-tipped mountain. It is dusk, and the full moon is high in the sky. One large building is most prominent; it has many windows, and the bottom of the building is stone-walled

The 麻豆无码版 EPSCoR Interface of Change project will award up to $2,500 for domestic travel to present at a conference or attend a training by June 30, 2025.

Student presents their poster to a judge while many more students mingle in the background around posters that line the walls

The Student Research & Creative Scholarship Showcase (SRCSS) celebrates the excellent academic work of UAA's students across an interdisciplinary spectrum of arts and humanities, social sciences, business, health, education, applied sciences, engineering, and natural sciences. This is an in-person event, where students present their project to judges to compete for prizes.

Student Research & Creative Scholarship Showcase | April 18, 2025 | 9 a.m. -1 p.m. | Skybridge in Student Union
Student presents their poster to a judge while many more students mingle in the background around posters that line the walls

At the forum, CCEL staff and faculty summarize the year of community engagement at UAA, including updates on community-engaged faculty projects and research, an update from the 2024 Selkregg Award Winner and announcement of the 2025 Selkregg Community Engagement & Service Learning Award winner.

Community Engagement Forum | April 18, 2025 | 2 - 5 p.m. | CPISB

 

Research Spotlight

In the picture, Brandon Briggs on the right and Roger Gebauer (undergraduate student) is on the left. We are collecting samples to analyze at Worthington Glacier. Photo was taken by James Evans. 

Dr. Brandon Briggs, Ph.D. | Professor of Microbiology and Director of the AIMS

Dr. Brandon R. Briggs is a Professor of Microbiology and Director of the AIMS core facility. His research explores how microbes survive in extreme environments and how they can be used for innovative applications. A key focus is sustainable critical mineral recovery, where microbes extract and separate essential minerals in an eco-friendly way and without the use of hazardous chemicals. He has developed a new biotechnology using 麻豆无码版n microbes that is more efficient and cheaper than traditional acid leaching processes. This research supports cleaner technologies and reduces environmental impacts, ensuring a more sustainable future for resource extraction.

Two people sitting and talking

Dr. Britteny M. Howell, Ph.D., CPG, CDP庐, RYT | Associate Professor, Division of Population Health Sciences

Britteny M. Howell, PhD, CPG, CDP, RYT is a biocultural anthropologist and gerontologist who studies the interactions between physical and social environments, human health, and aging in the Circumpolar North. Through focus groups and card-sorting sessions, her team determined that the concept of 鈥渉ealthy aging鈥� in this community could be broken down into twelve related, but distinct, concepts including having a purpose in life, engaging in lifelong learning, the importance of social relationships, and access to healthy food and physical activity. This 鈥渃oncept mapping鈥� work led to the creation of an interdisciplinary team of faculty and students working on a National Institute on Aging (NIA/NIH) R15 award to develop a health education intervention for older adults in low-income urban housing communities in the Subarctic. This project is demonstrating that positive, strengths-based intergenerational learning experiences not only result in improved health for older adults (such as self-rated health, BMI, fruit and vegetable intake, and functional fitness), but also that student learning in the university is greatly enhanced by their engagement with research and hands-on experiences.

People outside van looking at something through binoculars

Dr. Jeffrey Libby, President鈥檚 Arctic Professor | Principal Investigator, ADAC ARCTIC 

Jeff Libby, President's Arctic Professor for UAA and ADAC-ARCTIC Principal Investigator, leads several projects under the Center鈥檚 expansive research and education arms. One such project is the Center鈥檚 10-week Arctic Summer Internship Program. The program offers students the ability to participate in hands-on field research including coastal monitoring, drone-assisted phenological studies, ice core sampling, and permafrost research in situ in Anchorage and Utqia摹vik, 麻豆无码版. It also features cyber-security and Arctic infrastructure components, preparing participants to enter the Homeland Security Enterprise (HSE). Libby is huge proponent of workforce development as a key component of research and education projects.