ARCS Foundation – Phoenix Chapter
Congratulations to our NAU ARCS Foundation Scholars!
To learn more, please visit the ARCS Foundation – Phoenix Chapter.
Our Recipients
Anna Baker
Ph.D. Candidate in Astronomy and Planetary Science
Mr. & Mrs. Norman Castner in honor of Eileen & David Haga , Haga Family Memorial Scholar
Understanding aeolian (wind-driven) processes on Mars is essential to understanding Mars’ past and present. However, research on pathways for aeolian transport of sediment is currently limited by lack of knowledge on how the sediment itself might change during transport. I am using a novel experimental device to investigate the physical and mineralogical evolution of Mars-analog sands with simulated aeolian transport. I will use my findings to help interpret remote sensing data and trace dune sands back to their sources. This research will fill key gaps in our knowledge of sedimentary materials and local to global sediment cycles on Mars.
Beatrice Bock
Ph.D. Candidate in Biology
Mrs. Windrow and Mrs. Templin Windrow & Templin Endowment Scholar
After graduating from Vanderbilt University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Earth and Environmental Sciences, Beatrice came to Flagstaff, Arizona to study the complex relationships between plants and fungi. Together, they form symbioses where the fungi can improve the health of plants. One of her recent experiments shows how a certain fungus improves the growth of sorghum, an important crop. She is interested in pursuing research that reveals how to use fungi to improve agricultural production and forest functioning.
Mairead Brogan
Ph.D. Candidate in Forest Science
ARCS Foundation Scholar
Mairead Brogan earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and began her Ph.D. at Northern Arizona University in fall 2023. Her research investigates ecohydrological processes in a managed second-growth coast redwood forest, focusing on water movement, use, and stress under varying canopy cover conditions. Research in young forests is critical to understanding the long-term resilience of vast stretches of the redwood system, especially in the face of a warming and drying climate. Her work contributes to broader knowledge of forest resilience and ecosystem sustainability.
Keven Griffen
Ph.D. Candidate in Forest Science
Mr. & Mrs. Jack Kucera Kucera Scholar
Keven Griffen is a Ph.D. student in the NAU School of Forestry, where she works with the Dryland and Intermountain Restoration Team (aka, the DIRT Lab) to study novel methods for biological soil crust restoration in the Sonoran Desert. She grew up in Flagstaff, AZ, and her curiosity about the natural world led her to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology-Biology from Brown University in 2017. Her research at NAU allows her to combine her passions for native plants, soils, and ecosystem restoration in the iconic landscapes of her home state.
Emma Lathrop
Ph.D. Candidate in Biology
Mr. Stewart Horejsi, Horejsi Scholar
Emma’s research focuses on understanding the impacts of a warmer Arctic on the global carbon cycle. Frozen soils known as permafrost store half of the total pool of soil carbon, in just 15% of the land area. As these soils thaw they have the potential to release this carbon to the atmosphere, which can alter the global carbon cycle. Emma uses soil science, remote sensing, and carbon dating techniques to quantify the magnitude of soil carbon change in gradual and rapidly thawing ecosystems in interior Alaska.
Laura Lee
Ph.D. Candidate in Astronomy and Planetary Science
Mr. & Mrs. Jack Kucera Kucera Scholar
Laura Lee received a Bachelor of Science in Astronomy from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Currently a Ph.D. candidate in Astronomy and Planetary Science at NAU, Laura is working on four diverse projects aiming to help future planetary science missions. First, Laura is the Instrument Scientist for a visible and infrared camera (VISIONS) developed and built by NAU that is onboard ESCAPADE, NASAs SIMPLEx mission to Mars. Second, she is a Mission Science Affiliate for Lunar Trailblazer and focuses on how surface texture affects hydration signatures. Laura’s third project focuses on classifying asteroids for an upcoming mission to the asteroid belt using observations from the Lowell Discovery Telescope. In her fourth project, supported by an NAU NASA Space Grant, Laura conducts crop growth experiments in lunar and martian simulated regolith with fungi to assess its impacts on crop stress, health, and biomass production.
Nicholas Link
Ph.D. Candidate in Biology
ARCS Foundation Scholar
Nick Link is a third-year Ph.D. student studying ecosystem and disturbance ecology across Alaska and the Yukon. Nick’s work on fuel breaks seeks to provide land managers with information on the long-term impacts of fuel break installation, which can inform how they are designed and how often they are retreated. The project aims to help land managers develop strategies that can promote the growth of less-flammable deciduous trees after fuel breaks are installed. Deciduous trees may act as a living fuel break on the landscape, requiring no retreatment, and offering an entire suite of other
Lucas McClure
Ph.D. Candidate in Astronomy and Planetary Science
Jane & Bruce Lawson, Lawson Scholar
Lucas McClure studies small-bodies throughout the Solar System. Upon graduating from the University of Tennessee with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics, he began focusing his research on specific populations of asteroids and trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs). For his work related to asteroids, he characterizes the spectral trends within the Polana-Eulalia Complex, a carbon-rich asteroid population with relevance to two sample-return spacecraft missions. To investigate TNOs, Lucas uses spectral data from the James Webb Space Telescope to determine the compositions of the most volatile-rich type of TNOs.
Gillian Trimber
Ph.D. Candidate in Biology
Van Denburgh Scholar
Gillian Trimber completed her undergraduate work at Cornell University, where she received Bachelor of Science degrees in Plant Science as well as Viticulture and Enology. She received her MS degree from Northern Arizona University in 2023, and is now pursuing a Ph.D. at NAU in Biology. Her research centers on the ways in which plant-fungal interactions change after wildfire and other disturbances such as the introduction of invasive species. She is currently focusing on developing post-fire restoration techniques for woodland ecosystems that incorporate use of native beneficial fungi to improve tree seedling survival.