CNSM Celebrating Excellence Awards 2025-2026

 
 

Above and beyond

The College of Natural Science & Mathematics has a stellar team that demonstrates a commitment to excellence by way of quality service and meaningful achievements.

Dean Karsten Hueffer is pleased to recognize the following student award recipients, and faculty, staff and student achievements: 

Outstanding Students

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Physics: Aedan Mckee

Aedan Mckee is a senior physics undergraduate student with aspirations to be a material scientist. He loves science, technology, programming and math in all ways. At UAF he works as a math tutor and has enjoyed helping students better understand math and learning as he works. With his interests he expects to join a material science and engineering PhD program after he graduates because of the broad field material science encompasses and its importance to the modern world. Aedan gives thanks to the great professors at UAF for their great lectures and courses.

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Biological Sciences: Amelia Wagner-Jones

Amelia is a born and raised Fairbanks local, graduating this spring with a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences with a concentration in physiology and a minor in art. Growing up in Alaska sparked her love of the outdoors and deep interest in how animals cope with extreme seasonality. She has been working in Dr. Matthew Gilbert’s lab since 2025 where she studies the effects of thermal acclimation on cardiac function and performance under thermal stress of juvenile Chinook salmon. She received an URSA award last fall to further investigate molecular mechanisms underlying seasonal plasticity of cardiac function. After graduating, she hopes to continue fish physiology research by pursuing a MS. Outside of the lab, she enjoys filling her time with climbing, skiing, biking, and creating art.

 

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Wildlife Biology: Dorothy Sherer

Dorothy is a senior studying Wildlife Biology and Conservation, set to graduate this spring. She moved to Fairbanks from Indiana in 2022, and plans to continue her education and career in wildlife conservation in Alaska post-graduation. During her time in undergrad, she has worked and volunteered under the mentorship of Dr. Nina Hansen and Knut Kielland. Her research has spanned from bacterial infection in voles and marten necropsies to live-trapping lynx and statistical analysis of lynx movement. During her time at UAF, Dorothy has worked at both LARS and Outdoor Adventures, where she has fostered her passion for large mammals and the wilderness. Outside of work and school, you can find Dorothy skiing, climbing, or biking and spending time with friends and loved ones.

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Chemistry & Biochemistry: Gabriel Gray

Gabriel Gray is a graduating senior at UAF with academic and career aspirations in environmental science, working towards a B.Sc. in chemistry with a concentration in biochemistry. He came to UAF from Chugiak, Alaska in 2022, and is hoping to continue his education through the chemical oceanography PhD program at Florida State University, where he would be researching dissolved organic matter in Arctic bodies of water.  He has conducted research on the production of sustainable bioplastics from kelp through an Alaska Center for Innovation EPSCoR seed award and is currently researching iron flux in the Mackenzie river basin with Dr. Sarah Ellen Johnston's biogeochemistry lab. He has worked as a lab technician with the UAF Makerspace for two and a half years, teaching students’ technology skills and helping with research, design and manufacturing for University partners. In his free time, Gabriel enjoys bikepacking, hiking, foraging, and cooking.

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Geosciences: Teegan Silva

I will be graduating this spring with a B.S. in Geoscience and a concentration in Geophysics, while having competed for UAFs cross country and track teams the past four years. I am grateful to have received URSA and Alaska Space Grant awards to fund my undergraduate research, which focuses on understanding seasonal velocity drivers at Sermeq Kujalleq, one of Greenland's fastest flowing tidewater glaciers. I will be traveling there in May to help conduct fieldwork. During my time in Alaska, I have also had the opportunity to help with projects on Jaeger Rock Glacier in the Brooks Range and Taku Glacier in the Juneau Icefield. In my free time, I enjoy playing and watching sports, recreating outside, and searching for a grad school to attend next spring!

 

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Natural Resources & Environment: Thea Person

Thea is born and raised in the Homer area, and lives in Halibut Cove, AK where she works as a deckhand and tour guide. She will graduate in 2027 with a BS in Natural Resources and Environment and would love to pursue a career in sustainable resource management in Alaska, as well as get their captain's license. In the past year she has had the opportunity to travel internationally, studying sustainable agriculture and permaculture in Costa Rica, and learning about farm management and production in Argentina. They are now looking for ways to develop sustainable food production in northern environments. In their free time they enjoy ceramics, skiing and early-onset bird watching. 

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Mathematics: Sonja Truffer

I am a junior at UAF, pursuing a degree in Mathematics with a concentration in Statistics and a degree in Biological Sciences with a concentration in Ecology and Evolutionary Sciences. Outside of school, I enjoy skiing, skijoring, and mushing in Interior Alaska. 

 

 

Outstanding Teaching Awards

 

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Anja Kade

Dept. of Biology and Wildlife

 

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Maegan Daniello-Weltzin

Dept. of Chemistry & Biochemistry

 

 

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Marisa Acosta

Dept. of Geosciences

 

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James Gossell

Dept. of Mathematics & Statistics

 

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Kelsey Aho

Dept. of Natural Resources & Environment

 

 

 

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Doğa Ozturk

Dept. of Physics

Staff Service Awards

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Donna Schultze

CNSM Dean's Office Manager

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Joe Storm

Dept. of Physics Lab Manager

UAF logo of blue polar bear looking over its left shoulder

 

Kellie Dolan

Dept. of Mathematics & Statistics Office Manager

 

 

Previous Award Winners