John Huffman

Ph.D Candidate

Natural Resources and Sustainability, (Fall, 2024)

Research Topic: Alaska’s LEPCs in Context: Evaluating Community Preparedness and Engagement

Committee: Dr. Cameron Carlson , Dr. John Pennington, Dr. Michael Lindell, Dr. Daryl Shaffer, Crystal Hill- Pennington J.D

Hope Carr

Ph.D Student

Interdisciplinary Studies, (Fall, 2025)

Research Topic: The Study of Strategic Information Chaos: Understanding the Democratic to Authoritarian Governance Information Warfare Continuum in the Arctic

Committee: Dr. Troy Bouffard, Dr. Jen Peterson, Dr. James Morton

Elise Stokset Berger

Ph.D Student

Natural Resources and Sustainability (Fall, 2024)

Research Topic: Climate Change and Extremism in the Horn of Africa: Exploring Geopolitical Competition through the Frameworks of Resource Curse, Resource Scarcity, and Political Ecology

Committee: Dr. Alec Bennett, Dr. Troy Bouffard, Dr. John Pennington, and Dr. Cameron Carlson.

Morrow Duszynski

Ph.D Student

Natural Resources & Sustainability (started Fall 2025)

Research Topic: Textile Waste Management in Interior Alaska

Committee: Dr. John Pennington, Dr. Cameron Carlson, Dr. Lily Dong

Stephen Gagnon

Ph.D Student

Interdisciplinary Studies, (Spring, 2026)

Research Topic: By, With, and Through the North: Advancing Arctic Defense through Indigenous and Local Partnerships

Committee: Dr. James Morton, Dr. Troy Bouffard

Erlingur (Eli) Gudleifsson

Ph.D Student

Interdisciplinary Studies (Fall, 2024)

Research Topic: How has the Icelandic geothermal ecosystem evolved from domestic development into a platform for global knowledge diffusion.

Committee: Dr. Daisy Huang (Chair), Dr. Troy Bouffard, Dr. Gwen Holdmann, Hjalti Pall Ingolfsson

Sean Holland

Ph.D Student

Interdisciplinary Studies (Fall, 2025)

Research Topic: Beyond Completion Rates: Advancing Methodologies for Assessing MOOC Impacts in Rural Settings

Committee: Dr. Troy Bouffard, Dr. Elle Fournier, Dr. Franz Meyer

Zach Little

Ph.D Student

Interdisciplinary Studies (Fall 2024)

Research Topic: Integrating Multi-Sensor UAS Proximal Sensing Architectures for Arctic and Multi-Environment Intelligence, Infrastructure Monitoring, and Environmental Assessment within Applied Geospatial Science

Committee: Dr. Troy Bouffard, Dr. Cameron Carlson, Dr. Alec Bennett, Dr. Peter Webley, and Dr. Bruce Molina

Adam Mitello

Ph.D Student

Natural Resources & Sustainability (Started Fall 2024)

Research topic: Cruise Tourism in Alaska’s Far North Region and the Potential Impact on Subsistence Hunting in Indigenous Whaling Communities

Committee: Dr. John Pennington, Dr. Peter Fix, Dr. John Duffy, Dr. Alan Fyall, Dr. Donna Hauser

Anthony A. Picasso

Ph.D Student

Natural Resources and Sustainability (Fall, 2025)

Research Topic: Cultural Integration in Climate-Adaptive Emergency Sheltering for Rural Alaska Native Communities

Committee: Dr. John Pennington

Leasi Vanessa Lee Raymond

Ph.D Student

Interdisciplinary Studies, (Spring, 2026)

Research Topic: Contested Futures: Critical Minerals and Geopolitics in the Arctic and Pacific

Committee: Dr. Troy Bouffard, Dr. Greg Poezler, Dr. Shivani Bhagat

Janice Westlind

Ph.D Student

Interdisciplinary Studies (Fall, 2025)

Research Topic: The Arctic in Transition: The Shift from Cooperation to Competition.

Committee: Dr. Troy Bouffard, Dr. Tyler Kirk