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UAA faculty and students use machine learning to debunk COVID-19 misinformation

Computer screen displaying ChatGPT

Part of the Division of Population Health Sciences and Department of Journalism and Public Communication’s Alaska Public Health Information Response Team project, computer science Professor Shawn Butler has been using artificial intelligence to debunk COVID-19 misinformation on social media with scientifically accurate information from credited sources.

Liquid earth: UAA researchers study earthquake models

Earthquake crack in the middle of a road

By studying two sites in the Alaska Range near Tok struck by a 2002 earthquake, professor Joey Yang and graduate student Dave Eibert hope to develop new models that may help the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities better prepare for future earthquakes.

Undergrad research training leads UAA alum to Sandia National Labs

Peter Renner

Mechanical engineering grad Peter Renner now contributes to 3D printing and corrosion research as a postdoctoral fellow at Sandia National Laboratories, one of three National Nuclear Security Administration research and development labs in the country.

UAA collaboration receives $4.39M toward teacher training and retention in Bristol Bay

Dennis Andrew Sr. teaches students

The grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Alaska Native Education program will help the Bristol Bay Teaching and Learning Collaborative facilitate teacher development and retention, enhance positive engagement between the communities and schools, and provide culturally responsive education courses to teachers from outside the region.

Exploring Alaska's microbe frontiers

Kodi Haughn takes the lead as students in UAA Biological Sciences Professor Brandon Briggs' lab depart after sampling microbes at the foot of Worthington Glacier.

UAA Biological Sciences Professor Brandon Briggs and students in his lab have traveled throughout Alaska to study the microbes and microbial processes associated with extreme environments in polar regions. By looking at how these “extreme microbes” respond to and manipulate their environments, the researchers hope to better understand how glaciers change over time.

UAA receives $3M grant to boost ESL endorsements in Alaska

Flags from around the world hang in the hallway at Fairview Elementary School.

Provided by the Office of English Language Acquisition, the federal grant will help the School of Education’s language and literacy education graduate certificate program provide students and teachers with development opportunities that increase their knowledge, confidence and skills in language, literacy and content instruction for English learners.

Puppy loves and dental gloves: Positive effects of therapy dogs in dentistry

Therapy dog Kiita hangs out with Seawolves.

UAA dental hygiene students recently presented their research on therapy dogs in dentistry. During the presentation, the team discussed the benefits of dental therapy dogs, what kind of specialized training therapy dogs receive and what it might look like to have one in the office.

Health Sciences faculty member receives NIH grant to develop hope-based health curriculum

Britteny Howell

Assistant professor of health sciences Britteny M. Howell received an R15 research grant from the National Institute on Aging to train 12 student research assistants to develop a health program to improve older adults' fruit and vegetable intake and physical activity.

Erin Hicks is hoping black holes will answer some of our biggest astronomical questions

Erin Hicks in the UAA Planetarium and Visualization Theater.

Erin Hicks, associate professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, has studied black holes and their relationship to galaxies. With the James Webb Space Telescope launch, she is one step closer to unlocking their confounding mystery.

UAA professor’s work included in reauthorization of Violence Against Women Act

Angelia Trujillo

Angelia Trujillo, associate professor in the School of Nursing, has made it her life’s work to make sure nurses and providers have the tools they need to support victims of violence. She worked with Senator Lisa Murkowski on language that was included in a national bill just signed into law.

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