The NAU Review — It’s time to brag about your coworkers! Plus, relive MLK Day + Diné musician Ravon Chacon comes to campus

Jan. 21, 2025

The NAU Review. The official news source for Northern Arizona University.

Students at NAU walking down the pedway carrying signs in tribute to Martin Luther King Jr.

Building bridges, celebrating community

Martin Luther King Jr. dreamed of a United States strengthened by unity, collaboration and inclusivity. On Monday, NAU honored King’s legacy with a campus event focused on all three of those themes. Lumberjacks and Flagstaff residents came together to march in King’s honor, make posters celebrating his inspiring leadership and hear from keynote speaker Tony Ross, a Lumberjack doctoral grad and higher education consultant based in Phoenix. Unity and collaboration was the day’s secret sauce: Multiple NAU offices, student clubs and community organizations came together to make it happen.

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Go on, brag about your amazing coworker

It’s that time of year again! The Office of the President is looking for phenomenal NAU staff members to recognize at the President’s Achievement Awards in April. Nominate someone today!

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2023 President's Achievement Award sitting on a table

Samantha Hemmelgarn sitting on the roof of an observatory in the Southwest

How to find a comet before it hits Earth

Doctoral student Samantha Hemmelgarn uses data from meteor showers—the “footprints” left by comets—to pinpoint where comets are and whether they could hit Earth next year … or next century.

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What is music, anyway?

The Pulitzer Prize-winning Diné composer Raven Chacon believes it can be any sound, or no sound at all. Chacon, known for his “Voiceless Mass,” will give a lecture on Jan. 30 in Kitt Recital Hall.

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Wooden puzzle in the shape of a human brain

Cracking the dementia code

Some scientists believe they’ve found one early sign of cognitive decline that leads to dementia and Alzheimer’s disease: personality changes late in life. But an NAU sociologist is telling them, “not so fast.”

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child working with thread on a pegboard in a warmly lit classroom

Shaping tomorrow’s leaders

At NAU’s Early Learning and Development Center, kids ages 2 to 5 become miniature scientists, developing critical thinking skills through “studies” of animals and robots. It’s also a hands-on learning environment for Lumberjacks studying education.

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