{"id":79948,"date":"2026-10-16T16:46:06","date_gmt":"2026-10-16T23:46:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/?p=79948"},"modified":"2026-10-16T16:46:06","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T23:46:06","slug":"spotlight-oct-19-23-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/spotlight-oct-19-23-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"In the Spotlight: Oct. 19-23, 2026\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Kudos to these faculty,\u202fstaff\u202fand programs.\u202f\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Do you have a spotlight item to share with the NAU community?\u202f\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">E-mail your announcements to\u202f<\/span><a href=\"mailto:Inside@nau.edu\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Inside@nau.edu<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">,\u202for use\u202four\u202f<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/news.nau.edu\/news-tip\/#.YEjwNWhKg2w\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">online submission form<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.\u202f\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\u25cf\" data-font=\"Times New Roman\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\u25cf&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Jennifer Hanley, <\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">associate research professor in the Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science, spoke in the &#8216;Astrochemistry in Planetary Science&#8217; symposium at the American Chemical Society&#8217;s annual meeting.\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\u25cf\" data-font=\"Times New Roman\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\u25cf&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"2\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Amelia Ascione<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\"> received the Nadine G. Barlow Award for best graduate student for her presentation at the Planetary Cratering Consortium in July. <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Nadine G. Barlow<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\"> was a faculty member in the Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science for 18 years and served as department chair for the last several years, before her untimely death in 2020.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\u25cf\" data-font=\"Times New Roman\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\u25cf&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"3\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science (DAPS) graduate research assistant<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\"> Anastasia Morgan<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\"> co-authored the paper titled \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/arxiv.org\/abs\/2609.09063\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">The size and mass distribution of cold classical TNOs for 5 &lt; H &lt; 13\u201d <\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\">with DAPS chair <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">David Trilling<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\"> and research professor <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Will Grundy<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:276,&quot;335559991&quot;:360}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\u25cf\" data-font=\"Times New Roman\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\u25cf&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"4\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">David Trilling,<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\"> chair in the Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">, <\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">co-authored a paper titled \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/arxiv.org\/abs\/2609.07404\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Long-baseline ATLAS photometry of the seven main-belt asteroid targets of the Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\">.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\u25cf\" data-font=\"Times New Roman\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\u25cf&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"5\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Mark Loeffler, <\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">professor in the Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science (DAPS);<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> Rebecca Carmack, <\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">postdoctoral scholar<\/span> <span data-contrast=\"auto\">and DAPS professor <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Stephen Tegler<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> co-authored the paper titled \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/arxiv.org\/abs\/2609.29003\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">A Possible Complication of Using the 4.14 \u03bcm band to Assess D\/H Ratios on Icy Bodies<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\u25cf\" data-font=\"Times New Roman\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\u25cf&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"6\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Will Grundy<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">, research professor in the Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science, co-authored the paper titled \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/arxiv.org\/abs\/2609.36037\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">The Dense, Rocky Core of Haumea Revealed by Satellite Dynamics<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\u25cf\" data-font=\"Times New Roman\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\u25cf&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"7\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Cristina Thomas, <\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">associate professor in the Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">, <\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">co-authored the paper titled \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/arxiv.org\/abs\/2610.07395\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Tracing the main belt origins of S-complex near-Earth objects: From space mission targets to meteorite sources<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\u25cf\" data-font=\"Times New Roman\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\u25cf&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"8\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Soccer goalkeeper <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Lexi Saveski <\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">was named the Big Sky Co-Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season, after the team\u2019s 2-0 stretch last weekend.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\u25cf\" data-font=\"Times New Roman\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\u25cf&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"9\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Alexander Shenkin<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">, assistant research professor for the School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems, was <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">featured in the 2026 Edition of Research.com\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/research.com\/scientists-rankings\/rising-stars\/us\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Ranking of the Rising Stars of Science<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><a class=\"search-results-excerpt-link\" href=\"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/spotlight-oct-19-23-2026\/\">Kudos to these faculty,\u202fstaff\u202fand programs.\u202f\u202f\u00a0\u202f\u00a0 Do you have a spotlight item to share with the NAU community?\u202f\u202f\u00a0 E-mail your announcements to\u202fInside@nau.edu,\u202for use\u202four\u202fonline submission form.\u202f\u202f\u00a0 Jennifer Hanley, associate research professor in the Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science, spoke in the &#8216;Astrochemistry in Planetary Science&#8217; symposium at the American Chemical Society&#8217;s annual meeting.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Amelia Ascione received&hellip;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3036,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-79948","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spotlights"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79948","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3036"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79948"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79948\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79950,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79948\/revisions\/79950"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}