?PhD candidate at Alaska Pacific University. Focus in Yup’ik language and community resilience.
?Her research expertise is in Arctic marine and terrestrial sediment records of climate change over the last few million years, especially the history of Arctic sea ice, sea level, and western Arctic landscape change.
?Lead scientist, coordinator, and interested in the climate history that links with coastal erosion, permafrost thaw and landscape evolution.
?Caitlyn does research on wastewater treatment and sanitation in order to improve treatment outcomes and recover resources. She also studies the microorganisms that degrade wastewater pollutants. She enjoys teaching classes on biological processes for environmental engineering. She is a mom to three kids (ages 6, 8, and 10 years old) and is currently coaching her son’s baseball team.
?Role in Project: Caitlyn will support research on wastewater systems and microbial indicators of water quality.
?Member of Kongiganak Indian Environmental General Assistance Program (IGAP) office.
?Role in Project: Kongiganak Community Research Partner.
?Environmental economist and planner who works on the economics of water and sanitation service (WSS) delivery. Research focuses on benefit-cost analysis of water and sanitation projects, infrastructure finance, and the design and evaluation of customer assistance programs. Research experience in South Asia (India), Middle East (Egypt), Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, South Africa), North America (South Carolina, Alaska).
?Social scientist – understand and document household preferences for WSS, assess the potential health and non-health related benefits of improved services, conduct benefit-cost analysis of potential infrastructure improvements, explore potential for subsidy/customer assistance programs.
?Polar Field Services
?Role in Project: Manages logistics of the project.
?Research Assistant Professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Has more than 20 years experience of conducting research in Arctic and Subarctic. Area of expertise – permafrost: current state and potential of its degradation for ecosystems and communities.
?Role in the project: study permafrost around communities and assess risks associated with permafrost thawing.
?Environmental/Public Health Engineer who loves all things water. I’m an Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UMass Amherst and I study and teach about water quality and water access. Before my current job, I was a Research Scientist in Kenya where I worked on research and training on water quality monitoring.
?I’ll be supporting work and advising students working on understanding drinking water quality sources and challenges in infrastructure.
?Kongiganak community member and co-PI.
?Role in Project: Kongiganak point of contact as co-PI under Alaska Pacific University; Steering Committee and Community Advisory Board Lead.
?From growing up along the shorelines of Cape Cod, Massachusetts to his two decades living and working in Alaska, Chris has over 20 years of experience investigating coastal changes and their impacts on people and the environment. As a professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks he is the director of both the Arctic Coastal Geoscience Lab and the Alaska Coastal Cooperative developing partnerships with over a dozen rural communities in western Alaska.
?As part of this project, Chris’s team will be collecting data to measure and assess coastal and river changes producing data products that can inform local decision making and support community priorities in regards to mitigation efforts. If there is community interest he can also develop community based monitoring programs.
?Research Associate Professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Area of expertise – measuring and modeling ground temperature dynamics. Developing scenarios of the permafrost evolution and ground subsidence in the natural environment and around infrastructure.
?Role in the project: development of the observational network for temperature dynamics around the communities, modeling future behavior of permafrost.
?Research fellow in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UMass Amherst. My work revolves around drinking water chemistry and water safety, and I have done field work in the U.S. Northeast, Alaska, and Kenya. I recently accepted an engineering position in South America that starts in Spring 2024. In my free time, I play the fiddle and drink lots of coffee.
?I work closely with Emily Kumpel, Caitlyn Butler, and David Fuente supporting work on drinking water quality, wastewater collection and management, and the development of sustainable and economical water solutions.
?James Temte is a member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe. He is an artist, researcher, and the acting Director of APU’s Office of Research and Community Engagement. James brings over 15 years of experience working with Tribes and Tribal organizations on social and environmental science and cultural projects.
?Project Role: Community Engagement, Art as Knowledge Sharing (Mural Creation, Photography, and Storytelling Workshops).
?Native of Mekoryuk with 12 years rounded background in rural data collection and program management, in areas of: Environment, Transportation, Occupational Safety, and associated grants.
?Role in Project: Mekoryuk point-of-contact as co-PI under Alaska Pacific University; Steering Committee and Community Advisory Board Lead.
Project Alumni
?Former master’s student at UMass Amherst, focusing in Arctic climate science. His work helped interpret past climate and regional geology to better understand the potential of future environmental changes.
?Worked with Dr. Julie Brigham-Grette supporting her work on the region’s past climate and environment.