URSA announces Mentoring Awards for 2016

November 16, 2016

University Relations

UAF photo by Todd Paris. Ruth Osborne, left, and her mentor Jennifer Guerard, assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, participate in Research Day 2016.
UAF photo by Todd Paris. Ruth Osborne, left, and her mentor Jennifer Guerard, assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, participate in Research Day 2016.


The Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarly Activity recently gave 11 awards to faculty and graduate students to support undergraduate mentoring.

Below are the mentoring awardees, their UAF affiliations and their project titles:


  • Zeinab Barati, Institute of Arctic Biology, "Workshop on Essentials of Statistics with SPSS"

  • Frank Boldt, Justice Department, "Fairbanks Community Restorative Justice Initiative"

  • Jan Dawe, School of Natural Resources and Extension, "OneTree Alaska: K-20 Boreal Forest Education, Research and Community Engagement"

  • Maryanne Evans, Institute of Arctic Biology, "Climate Change, Biomass Production and the Alaskan Soil Microbiome"

  • Kristin Gagne, Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, "Does Dissolved Organic Matter Redox Potential and Reactivity in Pore Water Vary Between Open and Closed Taliks?"

  • Daisy Huang, Mechanical Engineering Department, "Collegiate Wind Competition"

  • Amy May, Communication and Journalism Department, "Testing the Effectiveness of Virtual Reality (VR) as a Strategy to Reduce Speech Anxiety"

  • Mark Melham, School of Natural Resource and Extension, "Dall Sheep Research in Gates of the Arctic"

  • Joy Morrison, Office of Faculty Development, "Mentoring Workshop"

  • Trent Sutton, College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, "Laboratory-based Evaluation of Structures Used for Aging Freshwater Fishes"

  • Mike Whalen, Geosciences Department, "Exploring the Aftermath of the Chicxulub Impact: Ancient Oceanography and Ecology in the Crater"


URSA provides year-round funding for student research and creative work through student project and travel awards, mentoring support awards, and innovative technology and education awards. For more information, please visit the URSA website at www.uaf.edu/ursa.