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In February 2023, UAA alumni turned their communities Green and Gold with shared pride from almost every state and outside the country. Part of a larger UA Giving Day initiative that raised over $324,000 for UAA and over $1.3 million across the University of Alaska System, 265 alumni donated more than $77,200 to UAA’s campuses, colleges and programs. We hope you, your company or your professional organization will get creative with us to make #49HoursForAlaska an even bigger success. Contact the Office of Development at uaa_development@alaska.edu to get involved with Giving Day 2024.

Public health professor Philippe Amstislavski, Ph.D.

The demand for sustainable and organic insulation solutions continues to grow due to increasing energy requirements for heating, cooling and powering buildings, as well as the energy used for manufacturing and shipping construction materials and temperature-sensitive items. A team of Alaska experts is tackling this issue by developing a cost-effective, bio-based insulation material that is carbon-negative and produced from fungus. Led by public health professor Philippe Amstislavski, Ph.D., and Robbin Garber-Slaght at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s Alaska campus, the interdisciplinary team has secured nearly $2.5 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy for their project, “Celium: Cellulose-Mycelium Composites for Carbon Negative Buildings/Construction.” The Celium Project team aims to develop modular, portable units capable of producing bio-based insulation on-site using local resources such as beetle-kill spruce trees and fungi. Although the project is rooted in Alaska’s local resources, the team is looking forward to scaling up the technology and implementing it in other regions of the world. The team has three years to explore the possibilities of expanding the technology.

(graphic courtesy of the Rasmuson Foundation)

The Rasmuson Foundation announced this year’s recipients of the annual Individual Artist Awards. Twenty-five artists, including three UAA alumni, will receive project awards of $10,000. Ten artists, including two alumni, will receive $25,000 fellowships. One artist, weaver Anna Brown Ehlers, will receive the $50,000 Distinguished Artist award, recognizing creative excellence and artistic achievements in a career spanning several decades. Now in its 20th year, the Individual Artist Awards program supports arts and culture by putting money directly into the hands of artists. It is one of several grant programs and initiatives managed by the Rasmuson Foundation to promote a better life for Alaskans. Congratulations to all the award recipients, including the following members of the UAA family: Nicolette Corbett, A.A.S. ’18, B.S. ’20; M.C. MoHagani Magnetek, B.A. ’16, M.F.A. ’20; Brian Adams, B.A. ’19; Young Kim, B.A. ’17; and Danielle D. Larsen, B.A. ’03, B.F.A. ’15.