INSTAAR honors students and faculty at spring celebration luncheon

On the day before ﾃ螻ｱｽ遧ﾘ commencement, INSTAAR faculty and students gathered in SEEC C120 for an end-of-year celebration luncheon. The mood was jovial as scientists filtered in and loaded up plates with rice, roasted veggies, chicken and tofu. The institute has had a busy year of cutting-edge research, new collaborative initiatives and outreach efforts.

Once everyone had a chance to settle in, INSTAAR director Nicole Lovenduski got the ceremonies started. As per tradition, institute leaders took the opportunity to highlight impressive and passionate efforts from a few of its members. Here are the awardees from this year:

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ﾌ�ﾌ�Sarah Crump Memorial Graduate Fellowship

Juliana Ruef is the recipient of the 2025 Sarah Crump memorial graduate fellowship. Ruef is the third annual recipient of the summer fellowship created in honor of a now-passed INSTAAR alum. She will use the funding for snow science research on the Juneau Ice Field in Alaska this summer.

five people pose for a portrait in a well-lit conference room

Gifford Miller, Sarah Crump窶冱 graduate advisor during her PhD at INSTAAR, and Juliana Ruef pose with the Crump Family. Left to right: Gifford Miller, Liz Anderson, Juliana Ruef, John Crump and Nodin de Saillan.

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ﾌ�INSTAAR Summer Scholarships for Graduate Students

This year窶冱 summer scholars are Hunter Geist Sanchez andﾌ�Harry Allbrook. The scholarships will fund their continued research efforts this summer. Geist-Sanchez is a restoration ecologist studying plant communities from a rangeland management perspective underﾌ�Katharine Suding. Allbrook studies microbial communities in the ocean inﾌ�Julio Sepﾃｺlveda窶冱 lab.ﾌ�

Two young men pose with commemorative plaques

Hunter Geist-Sanchez (left) and Harry Allbrook (right) pose with their awards.

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ﾌ�Professional Research Assistant Award

A female scientist in a black outdoor layer poses with a plaque

Jennifer Morse poses with her award.ﾌ�

2025窶冱 PRA of the year isﾌ�Jennifer Morse. Morse is the climate, water and snow technician and director of the mountain climate program at theﾌ�Mountain Research Station. She is also pursuing an M.S. in geography underﾌ�Noah Molotch.ﾌ�

INSTAAR senior fellow Gifford Miller, who presented the award, read a statement written by the Mountain Research Station窶冱 director,ﾌ�Scott Taylor, and principal investigator,ﾌ�Nancy Emery.

窶廱en is an essential and critical force in the success of the MRS,窶� Miller read. 窶廱en窶冱 tangible contributions are a combination of impressive technical skills, a fierce work ethic and an inexhaustible growth mindset.窶�

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ﾌ�Graduate Student Community Awards

This year窶冱 graduate student community awards went toﾌ�Adam Odorisio andﾌ�Kevin Rozmiarek. Odorisio was commended for his efforts toﾌ�. Rozmiarek was commended for his work as the graduate student representative on theﾌ�INSTAAR directorate. He is also spearheading an effort to create a community gear closet of cold-weather gear for INSTAAR students.ﾌ�

A young man poses with a plaque in front of a screen that displays his name, adam odorosio

Adam Odorisio poses with his award.

A man speaks at a podium while another, younger man stands in front of a screen and looks his way

Gifford Miller presents the second graduate student community award to Kevin Rozmiarek.

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ﾌ�The Commemorative Shovel

This year窶冱 ceremony featured a final one-off award. Professor emeritus of ecology and evolutionary biologyﾌ�Tim Seastedt has worked tirelessly for more than two decades to conduct research, volunteer efforts and invasive species eradication at the Spruce Gulch Wildlife Reserve. This spring, a private donor will hand over the reins of the reserve to INSTAAR, and Seastedt will take over as the acting director (more details TBA).ﾌ� At the end of the luncheon, Lovenduski and Suding presented Seastedt with a bright green shovel to commemorate his hard work at the site.ﾌ�