REU Site: Research Experience in Cold Climate Engineering and Science

The University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) will host a new Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program that will provide six students each year with a research internship. The thematic focus of the UAA REU program is on cold climate engineering and science research. Undergraduates will be selected from a national competition to participate in the ten week internship during the summers of 2025-2027. The program will provide a multi-department research experience with faculty mentors from across the College of Engineering (CoEng.) and the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS). Under the guidance of UAA faculty mentors, students will conduct research in one of the nine thematic areas of the built and natural environment affecting Alaskans' health, safety, and well-being. The project will produce a cohort of future engineers, scientists, and educators ready to solve the engineering and science challenges of the changing cold region environment. Students will have opportunities to explore complex issues of the built and natural environment in Alaska through experimentation, modeling, and fieldwork. Potential research topics include Arctic coastal risks to seismic activities; impacts of permafrost thawing, erosion, and flooding; the fate of aquatic photochemicals in the sub-Arctic; glacial environments; extreme environments and the search for extraterrestrial life; the performance of materials developed for space missions; operation of equipment/machinery in extreme environments; and the spatial variation in tree growth responses to environmental variability across Tanana Chiefs Conference lands. The project will train future scientists and engineers by giving them opportunities to participate in research as students. The project will help disseminate cold region research to other institutions and potentially attract students to pursue graduate studies in cold region science and engineering. Results of student research will improve our understanding of the changing Arctic. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.