In the Spotlight: May 19-23, 2025

Kudos to these faculty, staff and programs.

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  • Amaya Pablo, a double major in chemistry and applied Indigenous studies, was awarded the Udall Undergraduate Scholarship, which celebrates future leaders in environmental, Tribal public policy and health care fields. Kaya Dickson, an Honors sociology major and Flinn Scholar, and Kaiya AuBuchon, an Honors communication science disorders major, received honorable mentions for the scholarship. 
  • Hardy also wrote a chapter of the book “Covid’s Chronicities: From urgency to stasis in a pandemic era,” which looks at the lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic by spotlighting a range of structures and communities. Hardy’s chapter, titled “Children of Covid,” explores how growing up in a pandemic influences childhood development and draws on research conducted with youth leaders in northern Arizona.  
  • Team Snuffed, a group of NAU and Flagstaff-based engineers, scientists and fire professionals led by Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science Chair David Trilling, was one of 11 teams to advance as finalists in the Space-based Detection and Intelligence Track of the XPRIZE Wildfire competition. Team Snuffed’s qualifying project uses 90 microsatellites to rapidly detect wildfires from space, severely reducing the time and resources necessary to catch wildfires before they cause major damage. 
  • During the first day of the 2025 Big Sky Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships, the NAU men’s and women’s track and field teams earned eight All-Big Sky Honors. Multiple Lumberjacks also broke school, meet and personal records, including the following: 
    • Senior Trevor Hook finished first in the javelin with a personal best and an NAU school record of 68.98 meters 
    • Seniors David Mullarkey and Santiago Prosser each broke a 35-year-old meet record in the 10,000-meter, finishing at 29:23.03 and 29:23.48, respectively. 
    • Sophomore Karrie Baloga set a Big Sky Outdoor Conference meet record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:47.92.
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