About Us
Acknowledgements
We acknowledge that the University of Alaska Fairbanks is on the unceded territory of the Lower Tanana Dene on a hill traditionally named Troth Yeddha’. We honor Indigenous stewardship over the lands we work on by advocating for equity and Indigenous rights. We could not have done this without the speakers and participants who joined together to discuss these important issues and help educate a broader audience. We appreciate the Geophysical Institute Graduate Student Association (GIGSA) leadership and members for making a platform to speak on Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion and their continued commitment to change academia for the better.
GIGSA
GIGSA is the Geophysical Institute Graduate Student Association at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. GIGSA fundraises for graduate students to attend conferences, build student relational support, and host lectures. This past summer GIGSA started Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion working group that developed and carried out specific actions, which included TEK Talks.
Margaret Anamaq Rudolf
Margaret is Iñupiaq, her family is originally from King Island. She holds a Master’s Degree in Arctic Engineering from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and worked at U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) for several years. She is currently working on an interdisciplinary Ph.D. out of the Natural Resources and Environment program. She is studying co-production of knowledge methodology, or doing collaborative research with Indigenous communities. Her research is focusing on boundary spanners, the diverse group of researchers, liaisons, and community leaders that facilitate research activities. Her other research interests are related to Indigenous resilience and sustainability. Outside of work, Margaret can be found on the trails with her newfie-mix Karma. Margaret is supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Hatch project 1018914 and NOAA Climate Program Office NA16OAR4310162 the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy.
Anika Pinzner
Anika is a Ph.D. student at the Department of Geosciences at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She is using a combination of airborne and on-the-ground measurements and observations to study the reflectivity of snow during the melt season in Utqiaġvik, Alaska. She is also trying to understand how snow covers on streams affect water temperatures and therefore fish-egg survival in the State. Growing up in a small town in southern Germany, Anika has come to love the North during visits to Greenland, Svalbard, and Alaska as well her time living in Denmark and Sweden where she received her MSc degree in Environmental Sciences (UCPH & SLU). Her Master’s thesis focused on contaminants in snow, trace metals such as arsenic and lead but also light-absorbing particles such as soot. Anika’s favorite way of spending her time is being outdoors with friends. Floating glacial rivers, fat biking on snowy trails, or hiking to high-mountain lakes, her dog Poquontchn accompanies her on all adventures. Anika's graduate studies are supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Atmospheric System Research, an Office of Science Biological and Environmental Research program, under contract DE-SC0019107 and the National Science Foundation under contract 1810778.