Meet an all-women team of student engineers from UAA who are working to build a rocket capable of exceeding the speed of sound for the annual Space Grant Midwest High-Power Rocket Competition, aka the Efficient Supersonic Rocket Challenge.
Strengthen Alaska’s workforce: Pick.Click.Give. to UAA
Supporting education in Alaska is a crucial strategy as our state looks to recover the economy. When you designate a portion of your PFD to the University of Alaska Anchorage through Pick.Click.Give., you help strengthen our Alaska workforce. File for your PFD and add your pledge at pfd.alaska.gov.
Enrollment for the 2021 PFD is Jan. 1-March 31, 2021
This year when you apply online, Pick.Click.Give. to your Hometown University to support our Alaskan workforce.
Your Pick.Click.Give. donation supports UAA scholarships, which:
- Ensures Alaska has professionals trained for the needs and unique environment of Alaska.
- Invites trailblazing students and faculty to develop important research about Alaska, for Alaska.
- Provides financial support during hard times when students may otherwise need to drop out of school.
Pick.Click.Give. to UAA
Every gift makes a difference. Plus, donations of $500 or more can be designated to support the program or scholarship of your choice at UAA.
To designate your gift, please contact Samantha Sink at (907) 786-4847 or sksink@alaska.edu to specify how you would like your donation used.
Thank you for choosing to Pick.Click.Give. to UAA!
Student Spotlight
UAA biological sciences major Michael Martinez has been conducting research his entire life, but the sophomore researcher has come a long way from his elementary school science fair days and may have helped open a new door for Alaska’s mining resource industry.
Like many Alaskans, Kaasan Braendel grew up around bush planes. But it wasn’t until her first ride in a helicopter that she fell in love with aviation. Learning to fly only made her more curious about how aircraft work. Now, with certifications earned at UAA, she is embarking on a career as a helicopter mechanic.
UAA student Henrique Miller says he’s had a lifelong love of learning and has always been curious about the world around him. In his youth, math and the sciences excited him, but it was when he was introduced to UAA’s Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program (ANSEP) that he felt he’d discovered his educational passion in life. He hopes that one day his research will contribute to the field of plasma nuclear fusion.
Read more about how receiving an education at UAA is impacting students' lives.
Research Spotlight
For a team of faculty and student researchers led by UAA Department of Biological Sciences Associate Professor Eric Bortz, studying coronavirus has been all in a day’s work for more than 15 years. By continually surveilling and sequencing coronavirus, the Bortz lab hopes to learn how it might mutate, like whether it will become more or less contagious.
With support from the ConocoPhillips Arctic Science and Engineering Endowment, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering Getu Hailu, and Martin Henke, a student in the mechanical engineering master’s degree program, are working together to determine a simple and efficient way of keeping batteries cool.
For most of his career, UAA professor and chair in the Department of Physics and Astronomy Travis Rector has worked toward creating opportunities for undergraduate students to be involved in research projects, using real data from real research-class telescopes, like the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona.
Researchers from UAA have developed an in-state capability to detect COVID-19 in wastewater in Alaska. The research team, which includes UAA undergraduate and graduate students, is evaluating test outcomes to determine whether this new methodology can be used to monitor trends and complement clinical surveillance.
Read more about how UAA faculty and student researchers are impacting Alaska.
Thank you for choosing to Pick.Click.Give. to UAA!