Kudos to these faculty, staff and programs.
Do you have a spotlight item to share with the NAU community?
E-mail your announcements to Inside@nau.edu, or use our online submission form.
- Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science (APS) professor Christopher Edwards and postdoctoral scholar Emily Mason had their proposal for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Participating Scientist program selected for funding. Their proposal links surface dust lifting on Mars to its atmospheric conditions and includes operational roles on MSL through September 2028.
- APS alumna Cassandra Lejoly was featured in the NASA documentary “Planetary Defenders,” which details the work of scientists and astronomers engaged in asteroid detection and planetary defense.
- APS associate professor Cristina Thomas, assistant research professor Chris Haberle, professor Josh Emery, postdoctoral scholar Annika Gustafsson and doctoral student Aidan Madden-Watson co-authored the article “Multi-wavelength JWST observations of (3200) Phaethon show a dehydrated object with an aqueously altered origin,” published in the Planetary Science Journal. The study uses data from the James Webb Space Telescope to investigate the near-Earth asteroid Phaethon’s surface composition.
- NAU was ranked No. 15 in the large college category of the Peace Corps’ 2025 Top Volunteer-Producing Colleges and Universities list. Since 1961, 665 Lumberjacks have volunteered with the Peace Corps, including 21 NAU students currently serving in 18 countries around the world.