Archive

In this recovery-themed issue of UAA's premier publication, read about the students and alumni who are making an impact for Alaska and in their communities amid an era of unprecedented pandemic and social change.

The Alaska Journal of Commerce released its annual list of the top young professionals in the state. Selected from a field of 114 nominations, the 2021 Top Forty Under 40 recipients exemplify excellence in professional and community service.

UAA geological sciences professor LeeAnn Munk is a lead investigator on a new study commissioned by BMW Group to research how lithium extraction may impact Latin America, where two-thirds of the world’s lithium reserves are located.

UAA will honor Heather Flynn and Susan Malutin with the title of Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters and will award Doug Pope, Gary Turner and Lila Vogt the Meritorious Service Award at the virtual spring commencement ceremony.

Human services alumna Jennifer O’Neal will serve as student speaker for the spring 2021 graduate degree hooding ceremony — a far cry from when she was a teenager, unsure if she would or even could pursue higher education.

For commencement speaker Jessica Reisinger, her final year at UAA was all about saying yes to every opportunity that came knocking on her door. As it turned out, the simple power of yes ended up transforming her senior year in ways she never imagined.

“We really feel like we’re building something here,” said Alexander James, associate professor of economics. “We’re a teaching department and also a nationally and internationally recognized research department, and we’re bringing our students with us in some respects. For students that want to do real research, UAA provides an opportunity to discover something and contribute to the existing body of knowledge in economics, and that’s exciting.”

Psychology senior Tucker Sawyer is studying rat laughter for his senior thesis. It’s no joke. In fact, identifying and categorizing the ultrasonic vocalizations of lab rats could change the way we interpret drug research, care for lab animals and understand the origins of our own sense of joy.

As the world continues to navigate this once-in-a-generation pandemic, new scientific breakthroughs are unearthed every day. Accompanying this free flow of information is an increase of damaging misinformation. Working to curb the spread of online misinformation is the Alaska Public Health Information Response Team, a multidisciplinary collaboration between professors and students in UAA’s Department of Journalism and Public Communications and College of Health.

UAA political science professor James Muller recently published an unabridged edition of "The River War: An Historical Account of the Reconquest of the Soudan” by Winston Churchill after more than 30 years of meticulous work. This is the first time in over a century that the story has been told and published in its entirety.