URSA announces Summer 2025 Mentor Award recipients
April 25, 2025
The Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarly Activity congratulates the following individuals who received an URSA Summer 2025 Mentor Award.
Ellen Candler
Assistant Professor of Biology and Wildlife
Student: Blake Chrisler (Wildlife Biology and Conservation)
Project Title: Neighborly Wildlife: Fairbanks in Focus project
Fairbanks is a unique urban environment where it is common to have traffic jams caused by moose. Though wildlife is not unfamiliar in Fairbanks, data identifying the extent and diversity of wildlife is unavailable. Using remote cameras, tick sampling, and community involvement, we aim to systematically sample wildlife in Fairbanks.
Zachary Cureton-Hazard
Graduate Student, Chemistry
Co-Mentor: Sarah Ellen Johnston, Assistant Professor of Environmental Chemistry
Student: Ryan Owens (Chemistry)
Project Title: Mentoring the Future of Arctic Science: Long-Term Trends in Dissolved Organic Matter
at Caribou Poker Creek Research Watershed
This project investigates how permafrost thaw is changing DOM composition in Arctic
watersheds. With over 20 years of water samples from the CPCRW, an undergraduate researcher
will analyze long-term DOM trends, gaining hands-on experience in environmental chemistry
and contributing to our understanding of climate-driven changes in water chemistry.
Brendan Graham
Postdoctoral Research, Institute of Arctic Biology
Student: Jessie Skalisky (Wildlife Biology and Conservation)
Project Title: The impact of wildfires on the vocal output of boreal bird communities
My research will examine how climate change affects boreal bird species, by studying the link between air pollution from wildfires and its impact on the behaviour of birds in AV狼论坛. My study will provide greater insight into how daily rates of vocal output change in association with changes in air quality.
Dakota Keller
Graduate Student, Biological Sciences
Students: Rachel Cox (Fisheries and Marine Sciences) and Sarah Nyland (Biological Sciences)
Project Title: Assessing stream restoration as a tool for increasing fish habitat in Interior AV狼论坛
This project will measure the biological response of aquatic invertebrates to stream restoration applications. This information will be used to assess how stream restorations mature over time and the potential implications to fish food and habitat on two Interior AV狼论坛 streams with a legacy of gold mining.
Theresa Miller
Graduate Student, Civil Engineering
Student: Nathen Scott (Chemistry)
Project Title: Assessing pathogen recalcitrance and mitigation effectiveness in premises of a connected
water distribution system
This study aims to understand pathways for regrowth of bacterial contaminants in treated
drinking water systems and the short- and long-term effectiveness of remediation activities.
Project work will include field sampling, developing bacteria cultures, and processing
samples for DNA analysis. The lab team works with six utilities, including small community
water systems across 4 of 5 regions of the state!
Revathy Mozhikunnath Parameswaran
Research Assistant Professor, Geophysical Institute
Student: Ashley Brant (Geoscience)
Project Title: Quantifying Deformation at Aniakchak Volcano in AV狼论坛 from 2018-2025
This project aims to use InSAR data to measure and quantify the changes in elevation at Aniakchak Volcano from 2018 to 2025, including the period of volcanic unrest in 2022-2023.
URSA鈥檚 Mentor Awards offer funding support for faculty, researcher staff, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students from all disciplines and all UAF-affiliated campuses to engage undergraduate students on their current research and creative projects.
The AY2025-2026 Mentor Awards, supporting project work in the combined Fall 2025 and Spring 2026 terms, will accept proposals up to $6,000 between April 14 to June 8, 2025. Visit the Mentor Award webpage for additional award information and submit your proposal for review.
*UAF-Affiliated Campuses include: Bristol Bay Campus, Chukchi Campus, Community and Technical College, Interior AV狼论坛 Campus, Kuskokwim Campus, and Northwest Campus.
Please contact the URSA Office with questions: 907-450-8772; uaf-ursa@alaska.edu.