Olivia Slaton, a Japanese Major, has been awarded the JASSO (Japan Student Services Organization) scholarship to study in the Hokkaido University of Education in Japan during the 2009-2010 academic year. The scholarship includes $1,500 Anchorage-Japan round trip airfare, plus a $800 monthly stipend from October 2009 to September 2010.

Honors student and Biology major Carly Craig has been selected to participate in a 5-day training program sponsored by the Office of Training and Diversity, the Division of Intramural Research, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the National Institutes of Health.  The INRO program includes (1) scientific lectures and participation in informal discussions with researchers within the various NIAID laboratories; (2) tours of the NIAID laboratories on the Bethesda and Rockville, MD, campuses; (3) one-on-one interviews with NIAID principal investigators seeking to fill training positions, such as postbaccalaureate, postdoctoral, and other research training positions; and (4) expenses including transportation and airfare to and from Bethesda, MD, hotel accommodations, and meals. 

Brit Del Moral, University Honors student and Sociology major, will be presenting with Dr. Diane Hirshberg at the Bilingual Multicultural Education/Equity Conference in Anchorage in January.   Brit and Dr. Hirshberg will be presenting their research "An Exploration of Experiences and Outcomes of Mt. Edgecumbe High Schools Graduates (1986-2006)."  Brit and Dr. Hirshberg collaborated on this study as part of the ISER Undergraduate Policy Research Internship Award. They previous presented their work at the National Indian Education Association Annual Conference in Honolulu, Hawaii in October. 

Alaskan high school student wins top award at national conference for UAA-based medical research.  This summer, eight Alaskan high school students successfully completed biomedical research projects at UAA as part of the National High School Student Summer Research Apprentice Program, funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) - National Institute of Diabetes &  Digestive & Kidney Diseases.  Three of the students won prestigious awards, including the premier award, at the program's national conference in Washington DC.  These students lived on the UAA campus for six weeks while they completed their projects with mentors from a wide range of UAA Departments.  Click here to read the full press release and photos. 

Shane Lopez, winner of the 2007 Consortium Library Prize, has been accepted to present at the 2007 Alaska Historical Society Conference in Homer. He will present his paper, "The Flight of the Lebedevisky: A Tale of Trade and Turmoil on the Kenai," at the conference on Thursday, Sept 27, 2007 in the first session. Shane has received mentoring from Dr. Cathy Pearce and Dr. Alan Boraas.  Shane is a History major studying at the Kenai Peninsula Campus. 

Brit Del Moral, University Honors student and Sociology major, will be presenting with Dr. Diane Hirshberg at the National Indian Education Association Annual Conference in Honolulu, Hawaii in October.  Brit and Dr. Hirshberg will be presenting their research "An Exploration of Experiences and Outcomes of Mt. Edgecumbe High Schools Graduates (1986-2006)."  Brit and Dr. Hirshberg collaborated on this study as part of the ISER Undergraduate Policy Research Internship Award. 

University Honors student and Biological Sciences major, Reem Sheikh and her faculty mentor, Dr. Carol Jones, visited Washington D.C. to present Reem's research poster on Capitol Hill. The Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) welcomes nearly 80 undergraduate students from across the nation to Capitol Hill to present the results of their independent research in science, mathematics and humanities. The students were competitively chosen from just under four hundred applicants. Their research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, NASA, and many other agencies --- federal, state, and private.

Accounting major, Sara Lasell, was awarded the Civic Engagement Award from the Washington Center.  Sara will be participating in a summer internship program in Washington DC and London.  The scholarship provides $1000 towards the cost of her housing.  Internships are available through the Washington Center for Fall and Spring Semester, as well as during the summer.  Six full-ride scholarships are available for the Fall Semester Internships. 

University Honors student, Forty-Ninth State Fellow and Theatre major Adrienne Eberhardt to nominated for Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship:  Adrienne Eberhardt was recently nominated to participate in the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship Competition to be held at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (Region VII), to be held February 20-24, 2007, at Central Washington University.  The Irene Ryan Scholarships provide recognition, honor, and financial assistance to outstanding student performers wishing to pursue further education.

Psychology major Robin Morales Awarded an "Anchorage's Diverse Voices" Project Tuition Waiver: Robin Morales’ project to examine the role of Alaska Native Elders as traditional educators in the urban environment of Anchorage was selected for funding by the Diverse Voices of Anchorage Project. Morales will receive a $200 stipend, funding for costs related to the project, and tuition funding for her three credit Independent Study in spring ‘07. Morales will be mentored by Ann Jache, a professor in both the UAA Sociology and Gerontology programs. Morales is completing her B.S. major in Psychology and her Minor in Gerontology.

Liberal Studies major Tafilisaunoa Toleafoa Awarded an“Anchorage’s Diverse Voices” Project Tuition Waiver: The “Anchorage’s Diverse Voices” project, funded by a grant from the 2006-07 Chancellor’s Strategic Opportunity Fund/UAA as Public Square, has selected  for“Exploring Generational Differences among Samoan Fa’afafine,” proposed by Liberal Studies major Tafilisaunoa Toleafoa for a spring 2007 award. Fa’afafines are biological males who as children perform the household responsibilities of girls and who continue in female identities in adolescence and adulthood.  The fa’afafine identity is an established identity in Samoan culture. This project compares the experience of mature vs. millennial fa’afafine and will explore the unique challenges faced by young people raised as fa’afafine who now live in Anchorage and attend UAA. Ann Jache, Term Assistant Professor of Liberal Studies and Sociology, will mentor the student.

JPC student Isaiah Woods Awarded an “Anchorage’s Diverse Voices” Project Tuition Waiver:  The “Anchorage’s Diverse Voices” project, funded by a 2006-07 Chancellor’s Strategic Opportunity Fund/UAA as Public Square $10,000 grant, selected its first student project proposal for fall 2006.  Isaiah Woods, Journalism and Public Communications (JPC) major, received a 3 cr. Independent Study grant and will receive a $200 stipend when he completes his documentary video project entitled, “Villagers In The City.”  Mr. Woods will “capture the transition” of approximately 20 students from Unalakleet to life in Anchorage and at UAA.  The video documentary will be presented in April 2007 at a public conference for these undergraduate student projects that examine the situations of Anchorage’s 96 diverse language/ethnic groups and other kinds of social diversity.  Joy Mapaye, Assistant Professor of JPC, will mentor Mr. Woods. 

University Honors Student Jackie Rother McMahan selected as a Summer Research Assistant: Jackie Rother McMahan was selected as a Complex Systems Research Assistant, working under the supervision of Dr. Jerzy Maselko of the UAA Chemistry Department.  The project, which will take place at UAA and in Budapest, Hungary, involves researching complex structures formed in simple solutions containing, among other things, Copper sulfate, Sodium phosphate, and Sodium oxalate.  The overall scope of this type of research is looking for a chemical explanation for complex behavior as well as the transition from non-living matter.

Kit Persson selected as a Summer Field Assistant: University Honors student Kit Persson was selected as a summer field assistant for the UAA Department of Biology and ENRI's summer research projects in Northern Alaska and Greenland. Focus of this study will be on plant and ecosystem ecology research addressing the impacts of potential changes in climate on arctic ecosystems.

University Honors Student Adrianne Knott awarded top honors at 2005 UAA Student Showcase: Adrianne Knott was selected on the basis of her project “Homo Sovieticus: Survival & Optimism in Stalinist Russia.” This project was completed within the context of History 425: the Soviet Union, taught by Dr. Liz Dennison.

Ben Nolting awarded the Mathematical Association of America Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Research: University Honors student Ben Nolting was honored at the 2006 Joint Meeting of the American Mathematical Society and the Mathematical Association of America in San Antonio with the Mathematical Association of America Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Research for his research poster.

Ben Nolting selected to be a member of the 2005 undergraduate research team at the Penn State Center for Mathematical Biology.  Ben will travel during the Summer of 2005 to Erie, PA, to work with Drs. Joseph Previte and Joseph Paullet of Penn State University  on research in biological population modeling. Ben's selection for this research team was based on his extensive background in  undergraduate mathematics research.  The summer research team at Penn State-Erie is funded through the National Science Foundation's Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program.

Ben Nolting was a presenter at the Mathematical Association of America's (MAA) 2004 Pacific Northwest meeting, held on the UAA campus June 24th-26th. His presentation, entitled "Constructive Proofs using Homotopy Methods," focused on the differential topology field of mathematics. Over 200 mathematicians from across the nation and overseas were in attendance, including MAA president Ronald Graham and noted lecturer I. Martin Isaacs. The conference was coordinated by Honors Faculty member Dr. Larry Foster, who will be teaching the 2004-2005 HNRS 490 Senior Honors Seminar, "The New Scientific Revolution."

UAA Honors Program student Brian Singler is the winner of the 2004 Alaska Press Women’s Memorial Scholarship. The $1000 award is presented each year to promising student journalists in Alaska. To qualify, Singler had to submit several published clips and letters of recommendation along with his application. He will receive his award at a special Alaska Press Women’s awards banquet May 6. Singler is a senior in Journalism and Public Communications with an emphasis in Telecommunication and Film. Singler currently works for the Associated Press of Alaska, the student newspaper, the Northern Light, and is a freelance hockey writer. He also works in radio for the Anchorage Bucs and has completed internships in the news Department at 91.1 FM KSKA and the sports department at KTUU Channel 2. He plans to obtain a Master’s Degree from the Columbia School of Journalism before pursuing a career in sports broadcasting.

UAA Honors Junior Mandy Yan, a member of the University Honors Advisory Board, was selected as one of the 100 "leading undergraduate scholars whose character, achievements, and community involvement are of the highest caliber" in the Search for Excellence Undergraduate Merit Award Program. Visit http://www.searchforexcellence.org/2002.htm to learn more.

Five UAA Honors students (E.J. David, Jennifer Davis, Nick McDermott, Stefanie Winters, and Mandy Yan) from an experimental section of HNRS 292: Modern American Culture, worked as research assistants with UAA Psychology and Honors professor Dr. Claudia Lampman and will be published this year in Sexuality & Culture, a quarterly professional journal published by Rutgers University. Joanna Nicholson is a Winner of the 2001 Alpha Kappa Delta Undergraduate Paper Competition for her project "College Students' Opinions of the Clinton Presidency: A Sociological Study" into the Alpha Kappa Delta Undergraduate Paper Competition and won third place. Her award includes a $150.00 cash prize and a $600.00 travel stipend to attend the 2001 meeting of the American Sociological Association in Anaheim, CA.