INSTAAR honors students and faculty at spring celebration luncheon
On the day before CU Boulder 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:
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.
Gifford Miller, Sarah Crump’s 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.
INSTAAR Summer Scholarships for Graduate Students
This year’s summer scholars are Hunter Geist Sanchez and 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 Katharine Suding. Allbrook studies microbial communities in the ocean in Julio Sepúlveda’s lab.
Hunter Geist-Sanchez (left) and Harry Allbrook (right) pose with their awards.
Professional Research Assistant Award
Jennifer Morse poses with her award.
2025’s PRA of the year is Jennifer Morse. Morse is the climate, water and snow technician and director of the mountain climate program at the Mountain Research Station. She is also pursuing an M.S. in geography under Noah Molotch.
INSTAAR senior fellow Gifford Miller, who presented the award, read a statement written by the Mountain Research Station’s director, Scott Taylor, and principal investigator, Nancy Emery.
“Jen is an essential and critical force in the success of the MRS,” Miller read. “Jen’s tangible contributions are a combination of impressive technical skills, a fierce work ethic and an inexhaustible growth mindset.”
Graduate Student Community Awards
This year’s graduate student community awards went to Adam Odorisio and Kevin Rozmiarek. Odorisio was commended for his efforts to make his lab’s research on rare earth minerals in the Roaring Fork River available to affected communities. Rozmiarek was commended for his work as the graduate student representative on the INSTAAR directorate. He is also spearheading an effort to create a community gear closet of cold-weather gear for INSTAAR students.
Adam Odorisio poses with his award.
Gifford Miller presents the second graduate student community award to Kevin Rozmiarek.
The Commemorative Shovel
This year’s ceremony featured a final one-off award. Professor emeritus of ecology and evolutionary biology 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). At the end of the luncheon, Lovenduski and Suding presented Seastedt with a bright green shovel to commemorate his hard work at the site.
Tim Seastedt poses with a commemorative shovel given to him for his efforts in the formation of the Spruce Gulch Wildlife Reserve.
More luncheon highlights
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