2025-2026 Northern Arizona University Scholars

Windrow Endowment and Templin Endowment Scholar

• PhD Candidate in Biological Sciences
• BS in Earth and Environmental Sciences at Vanderbilt University
• Beatrice came to NAU 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.

ARCS Scholar
 

• PhD Candidate in Forest Science
• BS in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from University of Colorado, Boulder
• Mairead’s 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.

Horejsi Charitable Foundation Scholar

• PhD Candidate in Biological Sciences
• BS in Environmental Biology from Montana State University
• 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 into 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.

ARCS Scholar
 

• PhD Candidate in Astronomy and Planetary Science
• BS in Astronomy from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
• Laura’s research spans instrument design, development, and operations; modelling lunar surface roughness to assess its impacts on hydration signatures; classifying asteroid mission targets using ground-based observations; and testing fungal-enhanced crop growth in lunar and Martian simulated regolith. She aims to lower barriers for planetary instruments, improve water detection on the Moon, expand knowledge of asteroid compositions, and explore extraterrestrial agriculture. Through her work, Laura seeks to enhance future planetary missions and broaden our understanding of space environments.

Haga Family Memorial Scholar
 

• PhD Candidate in Astronomy and Planetary Science
• BS in Earth and Planetary Sciences from Washington University
• 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 in knowledge of how the sediment itself might change during transport. Anna is using a novel experimental device to investigate the physical and mineralogical evolution of Mars-analog sands with simulated aeolian transport. These findings will help interpret remote sensing data and trace dune sands back to their sources, filling key gaps in our knowledge of sedimentary materials and local to global sediment cycles on Mars.

Kucera Scholar
 

• PhD Candidate in Forest Science
• BS in Geology and Biology from Brown University
• Keven 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 Horejsi

ARCS Scholar

• PhD Candidate in Biological Sciences
• BS in Biology from North Carolina State University
• Nick is studying ecosystem and disturbance ecology across Alaska and the Yukon. His work on fuel breaks seeks to provide land managers with information on the long-term environmental impacts of fuel break installation, which can inform how these necessary wildfire mitigation approaches are designed. His work is part of a broad movement towards developing nature-based solutions for climate-change-exacerbated natural disasters.

Vandenburgh Scholar

• PhD Candidate in Biological Sciences
• BS in Plant Science and in Viticulture and Ecology from Cornell University
• Gillian studies how wildfire in pinyon-juniper woodlands influences beneficial relationships between soil fungi and plants, and how these fungi may be used in forest restoration. She also studies the interactions between invasive grasses, native fungi, and tree seedlings in the Southwest. Her dissertation work involves developing replanting techniques that can be used to improve ecosystem recovery after fire.

Lawson Scholar

• PhD Candidate in Astronomy and Planetary Science
• BS in Forestry from Northern Arizona University
• Lucas studies small bodies throughout the Solar System using archival, observational, and modeling methods. His research has focused on specific populations of asteroids and trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs). For his asteroid work, he characterizes spectral trends within the Polana-Eulalia Complex, a carbon-rich asteroid population that is the potential origin for near-Earth asteroids targeted by sample-return spacecraft missions. To investigate TNOs, Lucas models spectral data from the James Webb Space Telescope to study compositional trends of volatile-rich TNOs, which provide insights about the early Solar System.