In the Student Spotlight: Oct. 23, 2020

Kudos to these students

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  • The Northern Arizona University Model United Nations team won three awards at the Virtual Carolinas Conference. Sarah Frey won honorable mention as New Zealand in the SOCHUM committee that addressed workers’ rights in a global supply chain. Charlie Dors won the Position Paper Award and honorable mention as Syria in the DISEC committee that covered international efforts to strengthen cybersecurity.
  • The Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science had several students present at the first annual Arizona Astrobiology Research Symposium held virtually at Arizona State University. The symposium was an opportunity for students, postdocs and faculty to collaborate and enhance skills in professional networking and oral presenting. Presenters included undergraduate student Lonnie Dausend, graduate students Amber Young and Ari Koeppel and assistant professor Christopher Edwards.
  • Ryder Strauss, doctoral student in astronomy and planetary science, co-authored the article, “Stellar Occultation by the Resonant Trans-Neptunian Object (523764) 2014 WC510 Reveals a Close Binary TNO” published in The Planetary Science Journal. The article is a report on the stellar occultation by (523764) 2014 WC510 observed on Dec. 1 of 2018 as part of the Research and Education Collaborative Occultation Network (RECON) and shows the capabilities of the RECON design and experiment.
  • Recent master’s graduate of forestry Ernawati Apriani and professor of forestry Yeon-Su Kim co-authored the article, “Non-state certification for sustainable palm oil in Sumatra, Indonesia” in Land Use Policy. The study investigated how Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, a non-state certification program to ensure sustainable palm oil production in Indonesia, is perceived and practiced by various stakeholders along the palm oil supply chain.
  • Emmanuel (Manny) James, graduate student in civil engineering, won an FHWA Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship. The program advances the transportation workforce and encourages future transportation professionals to seek advanced degrees. To make the industry more effective and efficient, fellows have pushed for innovative change in multimodal areas such as highway infrastructure to aviation and maritime.
  • The NAU Men’s Cross Country team placed first overall at the Oklahoma State University (OSU) Invitational. Senior All-American athlete Luis Grijalva was selected as the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association’s NCAA Division I National Male Athlete of the Week. Grijalva competed at OSU, winning the 8K and set a course-record time of 23:30.2.
  • Students Darcie Stinson, Aspen Palieri, Kayla Negron and Kendal Poff created a seed lending library collaboration with Cline Library and Forestdale Farms as part of their Planning, Implementing and Evaluating Health Promotion Programs Capstone class. The Seed Lending Library’s goal is to combat the threat of food insecurity by promoting urban farming by increasing access to healthy food options by providing education to the Flagstaff community.
  • Two master’s students captured top honors in the 2020 Central Arizona Project Award for Water Research. First place went to Mary Samar for her thesis titled, “On the precipice of transition: water, crops and adaptation in Pinal Country, Arizona.” Second place went to Riley Swanson for his thesis titled, “Quantifying the base flow of the Colorado River: its importance in sustaining perennial flow in northern Arizona and southern Utah.”