Michele Yatchmeneff

michele-yatchmeneff
Executive Director for Alaska Native Education & Outreach, Associate Professor
Civil Engineering
ADM 223
907-786-1853
myatchmeneff@alaska.edu

Education

PhD Engineering Education, Purdue University, 2015
MS Engineering Management, University of Alaska Anchorage, 2009
BS Civil Engineering, University of Alaska Anchorage, 2005

Biography

Dr. Michele Yatchemeneff is an Unangax (Aleut) woman who grew up living a traditional subsistence lifestyle in rural villages along Alaska's Aleutian chain. She was an ANSEP scholar at the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) where she earned a BS in Civil Engineering in 2005 and an MS in Engineering Management in 2009. After earning her BS, she began working in Alaska's construction and engineering industry, specializing in water and sewer projects in remote villages across the state. She also worked as the Deputy Director of the Alaska Native Science & Engineering Program (ANSEP). Professor Yatchmeneff earned her PhD in Engineering Education from Purdue University. Her PhD research focused on the motivation and success of Alaska Native pre-college STEM students. Her current research expands her doctoral work and focuses on belongingess, Alaska Native education, preparation, and retention.  Professor Yatchmeneff started serving as the UAA Executive Director for Alaska Native Education and Outreach in October 2021.

Teaching Responsibilities

Introduction to Engineering (ES A101 & ENGR A151): Spring 2008, Summers 2009-2012, Fall 2015 - 2021
Introduction to Civil Engineering (CE A201): Fall 2020 and Fall 2021
Fundamentals of Environmental Engineering (CE A341): Fall 2020 and Fall 2021
Environmental Systems Design (CE A442): Springs 2018-2021
Fluid Mechanics (ES A341): Fall 2017 and Fall 2018
Economic Analysis and Operations (ESM A450):  Fall and Spring 2015-2017

Professional & Department Service

2015 - 2021 Alfred P. Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnerships (SIGP) Coordinator for ANSEP
2015 - 2021 ANSEP Assistant Director and faculty advisor for ANSEP's 2500+ pre-college and college students

Research Interests

RESEARCH AWARDS:
2020, Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI), Alfred P. Sloan Foundation:  "Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnerships (SIGP)". $4,501,743 total of which $351,424 comes to UAA and UAF and $528,000 is given to 16 students in fellowships over 4 years.
2018, PI, National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER):  "Alaska Native Belonging in High School Mathand Science Classrooms" - $500,000 over 5 years
2017, Co-PI, Educational Credit Management Corporation (ECMC) Foundation:  "Support of ANSEP" - $600,000 over 2 years
2017, Co-PI, National Science Foundation (NSF), Broadening Participation (BP):  "ANSEP Dissemination Conference" - $200,000 over 1 year
2017, Co-PI, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation:  "Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnerships (SIGP)" - $2,533,092 total, of which $342,630 comes to UAA and UAF over 3 years
2017, Co-PI, National Science Foundation (NSF) Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP):  "Alaska Alliance" - $3,000,000 over 5 years

Publications

Denick, D., Dringenberg, E., Fayyaz, F., Nelson, L., Pitterson, N., Tolbert, D., Yatchmeneff, M., Cardella, M. (2013). STEM thinking in informal environments: Integration and recommendations for formal settings. In 2013 ASEE IL-IN Section Conference (pp. 1-17). Angola, Indiana: American Society for Engineering Education. Retrieved from http://ilin.asee.org/2013/index_files/denick.pdf

Yatchmeneff, M. (2015). A qualitative study of motivation in Alaska Native Science & Engineering Program (ANSEP) precollege students. In 122nd ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition. Seattle, WA: American Society for Engineering Education. 

Yatchmeneff, M. & Calhoun, M. (2017). Exploring engineering identity in a common introduction to engineering course to improve retention. In 2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition. Columbus, Ohio: American Society for Engineering Education.

Yatchmeneff, M. & Schroeder, H.P., & Calhoun, M.E. (2016), How to develop Alaska Native STEM Students in Middle School and High School. In 123rd ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition. New Orleans, LA: American Society for Engineering Education. Retrieved from https://www.asee.org/public/conferences/64/papers/15288/view

Civil Engineering Faculty