College of Engineering

Research

UAA is a hub for cutting-edge theoretical and applied research in health, engineering, and the physical and social sciences. In nearly every discipline, undergraduate and graduate students have the opportunity to join research teams and collaborate with experienced faculty mentors.
Research at UAA

PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS DEGREE PROGRAMS ACADEMIC DEPARTMENTS ADVISING CENTER K-12 OUTREACH EMPLOYEE DIRECTORY SCHOLARSHIPS & GRANTS RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

At the University of Alaska Anchorage, you can pursue your dream of becoming an engineer, computer scientist, or project manager while living in Anchorage--the business, industrial, cultural, and recreational center of Alaska. Located near all major Alaskan employers of engineering, computer science, and project management talent, 74% of our job-seeking students have jobs before they graduate!

As an undergraduate, you can pursue Bachelor's degrees in Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, Computer Systems Engineering, Computer Science, or Geomatics (Surveying and Mapping), and graduate degrees Project Management, Mechanical, or Civil Engineering. We also offer collaborative degrees in Chemical Engineering (with WSU), and Mining and Geological Engineering, and a PhD in Engineering with the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

The Alaska Department of Labor has projected the state will need 300 new computer and engineering professionals annually through 2022 -- 96 new positions and 204 to replace retirees. UAA's College of Engineering is committed to producing cutting-edge graduates ready to energize the state's growing engineering community.

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Announcements

Upcoming Events

Liquid earth: UAA researchers study earthquake models

November 29, 2022

In 2002, a large earthquake (Mw=7.9) struck in the Alaska Range near Tok, inflicting severe infrastructure damage to two sites: the Tok Cutoff highway near the Slana River and the Northway Airport by the Canadian border. This may sound like old news, but in UAA’s College of Engineering, researchers are still uncovering valuable findings from this disaster — findings that may help the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (AKDOT&PF) better prepare for future earthquakes.
Undergrad research training leads UAA alum to Sandia National Labs

October 19, 2022

For Peter Renner, the last four years have felt like sprinting a marathon. He went into Texas A&M’s mechanical engineering Ph.D. program in 2018, right after graduating from UAA, and just four years later he is now a postdoctoral fellow at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico. That means he blasted through his coursework, exams and dissertation in practically record time — even with the coronavirus pandemic and a newborn daughter thrown into the mix.
Cryogenic Solid Particles and Lunar Rover

July 25, 2022

If you spent much time around the Engineering and Industry Building this last year, you were almost guaranteed to see UAA College of Engineering Professor Getu Hailu carting industrial sized thermoses in and out of the building. It turns out the thermoses were not for his lunch. They contained freezing cold liquid nitrogen for use in his NASA-funded research into how extreme cold affects different materials.
UAA partners with Bellingham Technical College on geomatics program

March 7, 2022
The University of Alaska Anchorage is excited to announce a new partnership with the Bellingham Technical College (BTC) to further educational opportunities for students and meet the high-demand needs for today’s Geomatics workforce. The new partnership offers a pathway for students in BTC’s associate degree in Engineering Technology - Geomatics to continue their education and finish with a Bachelor of Science in Geomatics at UAA.
Ice research may add up to big savings for a growing industry

February 17, 2022
Anchorage’s Ted Stevens International Airport is one of the top five busiest cargo airports in the world.
Anticipating this increase in northern shipping, UAA professor of structural engineering Scott Hamel, P.E., Ph.D., began researching the determination of ice crushing forces on vertical piles with tidal-accreted ice, which was one of seven UAA research projects selected for the 2020 ConocoPhillips Arctic Science and Engineering Endowment Awards.
Just warming up: Engineering alum reinvests in UAA's future

February 9, 2022

At a small, masked ceremony on the third floor of the Engineering and Industry Building in December 2021, UAA’s chancellor, the College of Engineering’s (CoEng) dean and others gathered to rename the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Lab in honor of Jan van den Top, a 1973 Master of Science in engineering alumnus, whose generous endowment will enable UAA’s mechanical engineering program to remain on the cutting edge of teaching and research. In fact, this endowment is the latest in a long line of investments he has made in UAA, and is an example of a philosophy that has been one of van den Top’s guiding principles.
Mindful and ready

December 6, 2021
Student speaker for the fall 2021 graduate degree hooding ceremony Cody Kapotak, B.S. Civil Engineering '20, M.S. Project Management '21 discusses his journey to engineering.

With his Bachelor of Science in civil engineering and Master of Science in project management, Kapotak now has his sights set on his Ph.D. in geotechnical engineering, which he will begin in fall 2022 at UAF after some much-deserved downtime.