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Jeff Libby is the Director for the Applied Environmental Research Center (AERC), and he also serves as the Director for the Center of Strategic Partnerships and Research (CaSPR). He previously served as the Associate Dean for technical programs in UAA’s Community and Technical College. Jeff has a very diverse background that originated with outdoor activities coupled with a passion for photography and wildlife. Jeff holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) in Natural Sciences with a concentration in Environmental studies. He has performed independent studies at Cornell University specifically on avian biology at the Ornithology Lab. He is currently pursuing his Master’s degree in Project Management. Jeff is also a professional photographer specializing in wildlife. He has performed photography for Souvenir Photograph, Image Me and British Broadcasting Company (BBC). Jeff is a registered Maine guide with a commercial boat operator’s license. He served as a Wildlife Field Technician for the BioDiversity Research Institute where he worked on numerous projects including the bioaccumulation of methyl mercury in Common Loons, Bald Eagles and Landlocked Salmon. Jeff has worked with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the University of Wyoming in Prince William Sound studying river otters. He has also worked in conjunction with United States Forest Service studying fire ecology and forest succession on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula. Jeff has been instrumental in a variety of research projects from Maine to the Aleutian and Pribilof Islands of Alaska. He has been involved with several avian and bat research studies. Jeff brings more than 20 years of field experience and a wealth of knowledge related to wildlife, habitat and climate change.

Brian Heitz received a B.S. in Biology from Kent State University and a M.S. in Biology from the University of Alaska-Anchorage.  He has extensive experience doing fieldwork for the National Park Service, Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management in Oregon and Alaska and has also been instructor and researcher at the University of Alaska since 2002. Brian’s specialties and areas of interest include ecology and systematics of mosses, flora of Alaska, microscope photography, and biogeography of tropical Pacific island plants.

Grant Humphreys joined the Applied Environmental Research Team in 2019 as a research technician. With a background in civil engineering from the University of Notre Dame (2017), Grant has professional experience in construction management ranging from skyscrapers to international airports. Grant also has a passion for hydrology and ecology with collegiate lab experience in both fields. Although he was a snowbird through high-school, Grant’s family is from Alaska and he is thankful to be living here fulltime. Grant is currently focused on project management and finances for AERC.

Cameron Wilson joined the Applied Environmental Research Team at the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) in spring of 2020. He is currently working to complete his M.S. in Civil Engineering at UAA with a project titled Per Capita Water and Fixture Use in Rural Alaska. The project involves collecting data on water use ranging from per capita consumption based on community water production to measuring how much water is used at each individual fixture within the home at any given time. Originally from North Carolina, he earned his B.S. in Biological Engineering from NC State focusing on bioprocessing and alternative fuels. After graduating and completing his research, he drove to Alaska seeking opportunity. A field engineering position lead to five years in the west Texas oilfields before he was finally able to finally come back to Alaska to continue his education and a career in research.