UAA's Complex Systems Group is comprised of faculty from a wide spectrum of disciplines including: Art, Physics, Chemistry, Public Policy, Nursing, Biology, Mathematics, Philosophy, Computer Science, Logistics, Political Science, Psychology, and other disciplines.

Jerzy Maselko, Professor of Chemistry, received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the Technical University in Wroclaw, Poland. Dr. Maselko served as Chair of the International Conference on Chemical Emergence which was held in Anchorage, Alaska, from June 20 to June 22, 2002. His research interests include chaos and complex oscillations, multicellular chemical systems, chemical waves and pattern formation, complexity in chemical systems, and smart materials. Dr. Maselko and Dr. Kim Peterson are the co-founders of UAA's Complex Systems Group.

Kim M. Peterson received a Ph.D. in Botany/Ecology from Duke University in 1978. Dr. Peterson is currently Professor of Biological Sciences and Associate Dean of Research in the College of Arts and Sciences. His research includes the dynamics of vegetation and landscape patterns, permafrost-vegetation interactions, and soil-plant-atmosphere processes. Dr. Peterson's interests in complex systems extends well beyond his research to include the philosophy of science, the nature of mind, and the evolution of complex systems. Dr. Peterson and Dr. Jerzy Maselko co-founded UAA's Complex Systems Group.

Douglas Causey is the Vice Provost for Research and Dean of the Graduate School. He joined the Office of of Research and Graduate Studies and the Biological Sciences Department in June 2005. He is considered a great asset for UAA’s research enterprise. Currently, he is researching the environmental correlates of infectious disease, specifically of zoonotic diseases -- those passed from animals to human beings -- such as influenza and West Nile Virus. His interdisciplinary research focuses on the human dimensions of environmental change, in particular on identifying the interrelations of environmental health, civil stability and national security. He has published in Science, numerous biology journals, and the Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations.

From 1996 to 2000, he worked at the National Science Foundation in the Office of Polar Programs and Division of Environmental Biology, and helped establish several national and international programs in environmental sciences and arctic biology. He is a research associate of the Smithsonian Institution’s Arctic Science Center and the Monteverde Institute in Costa Rica. Dr. Causey received his BS and MS from the University of California and his PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Arizona.

James J. Liszka received his Ph.D. in Philosophy from the New School for Social Research in 1978, his M.A. from the University of South Carolina, and his B.A. from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. His principal research interests include ethics, semiotics, pragmatism and narrative theory. He teaches logic, ethics, aesthetics and the philosophy of the social sciences for the Philosophy Department and currently serves as the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Liszka's major writings include, Moral Competence (Prentice Hall, 1999), A General Introduction to the Semeiotic of Charles S. Peirce (Indiana University Press, 1996), and The Semiotic of Myth (Indiana University Press, 1989). He is co-founder of The Alaska Quarterly Review and was editor of The Graduate Faculty Philosophy Journal. In 1998, he received the Excellence in Teaching Award from the Teaching Excellence program at UAA, and the Chancellor's Outstanding Research Award in 1999.

Kenrick J. Mock received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of California, Davis in March 1996, completing a dissertation entitled "Hybrid Techniques for Intelligent Information Filtering: Genetic Algorithms, Case-Based Reasoning, and Statistical Approaches." Dr. Mock's primary research focus is artificial intelligence; other areas of study include psychology, algorithms and complexity. He is interested in the computational aspects of agent-based modeling, artificial life, fractals, Lindenmayer Systems, and models of machine learning and machine intelligence and is currently working on methods of heuristic search for multi-player games, agent-based techniques to manage email, and efficient ways to electronically access an Arctic Ice Atlas.

Don E. Spalinger, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences, received his Ph.D. in Zoology from Washington State University. His Master's degree in Wildlife Biology was conferred by the University of Nevada Reno. His research focuses on the ecology, chemistry, and physiology of plants and herbivores, and he is particularly interested in the nutritional ecology of large herbivores in northern ecosystems, including moose, caribou, and black-tailed deer. Dr. Spalinger's research explores a diversity of topics to understand how habitats and plant communities influence the survival and productivity of these animals. These include studies of nutritional qualities of plants, plant defensive chemistry, plant architecture and its influence on foraging behavior and food intake rate of herbivores, the digestive physiology of herbivores, foraging behavior, and biological simulation modeling

Benson M. Curtis, Associate Professor of Science, received a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of Washington in 1986. His research interests include the emergent properties of nested complex systems, from modeling protein folding and genetic networks, to the evolution of life and global ecosystems. Dr. Curtis is currently developing undergraduate education that exposes students to complex system thinking as a complementary approach to reductionism.

W. Oliver Hedgepeth joined the University of Alaska Anchorage in 2001, initially teaching graduate level knowledge management courses in the School of Engineering. His expertise became known to the American-Russian Center, and Dr. Hedgepeth was invited to teach management courses to Russian businessmen. Several years ago, he was invited to join UAA's Logistics Department and is currently serving chair of that department. Dr. Hedgepeth's research interests include: complexity, cybernetics, system dynamics, and knowledge management. He is a military academy editor of Phalanx, an operations research publication and has served as a book reviewer for Science Books & Films for over 25 years.

Mary Odum Logan received her Ph.D. in Nursing from George Mason University in 1998, where she completed a dissertation on "A Simulation Model of the System of Health Care in the United States." This model simulated workforce dynamics in order to provide a better understanding of the relationships between physician and nursing workforce supply and shortages, and the healthcare industry. She currently works with the Alaska Native Tribal Heath Consortium in Anchorage, Alaska, and formerly served as an Assistant Professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage, where she taught baccalaureate and graduate nursing students. She learned most of what she knows about natural and human ecosystems and modeling from her father and uncle, both of whom are ecologists.

Dr. Ken Osterkamp received a PhD in Political Science from Claremont Graduate University in 1996, where he applied genetic algorithms to analyze strategic optimization in game-theoretic models of cooperation. Dr. Osterkamp worked for BiosGroup, a complexity science consulting firm founded by Dr. Stuart Kauffman. As a Washington DC-based consultant, Dr. Osterkamp provided strategic planning services to Federal and Fortune 500 clients. His projects included public policy modeling, supply chain management, project portfolio management, SKU reduction, agent-based modeling of marketing campaigns, and e-commerce trading facilitation. Dr. Osterkamp recently served as Executive Director of Alaska 20/20, an independent, not-for-profit public policy research organization that measures Alaska’s economic, social and environmental progress and is now the State Director for the Alaska AARP State Office.

Greg J. Protasel is a Professor of Public Administration and received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 1977. Dr. Protasel's focus is in public administration, public policy, and research methods. His research has focused on local and comparative government institutions. He has served as project coordinator to the USAID Institutional Partnership Project, program analyst with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, and the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. He has been the director of the MPA program at Idaho State University and director of the Political Science Internship Program at Oregon State University. In addition, he has served in an evaluative capacity with the Alaska Department of Commerce and Economic Development and the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services. Dr. Protasel is currently teaching Management Analysis, The Policymaking Process, Organizational Theory and Behavior, Alternative Dispute Resolution, and Administration of Financial Resources.