62 Notable alumni of University of Alaska Fairbanks
Updated: June 14, 2026 EliteDegrees
University of Alaska Fairbanks is ranked #586 in the world and #182 in United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 62 notable alumni from University of Alaska Fairbanks sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff. Many individuals affiliated with University of Alaska Fairbanks won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.
1. Pearl Kiyawn Nageak Brower
2012-2020 (aged 8)
academic administrator
Pearl Kiyawn Nageak Brower is an American academic administrator. She was president of Iḷisaġvik College from 2012-2020.
2. Joseph L. Hayes
1930-2018 (aged 88)
civil engineer
lobbyist
politician
Joseph Lynn "Joe" Hayes was an American civil engineer, lobbyist, politician and surveyor.
3. Joe Sova
1988-. (aged 38)
ice hockey player
Joe Sova is an American professional ice hockey defenseman. He is currently playing with the Quad City Storm of the SPHL.
4. Fred Brown
1943-2014 (aged 71)
lawyer
engineer
politician
Frederic Emil "Fred" Brown was an American attorney, electrical engineer, and politician.
5. Katey Walter
limnologist
ecologist
Katey M. Walter Anthony is an Alaskan aquatic ecologist and biogeochemist researching carbon and nutrient cycling between terrestrial and aquatic systems, and the cryosphere and atmosphere.
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6. William Scott Home
1940-. (aged 86)
novelist
science fiction writer
zoologist
William Scott Home is the pen name (and, later, legal name) of an American author, poet and biologist principally known for writing horror and dark fantasy. Best known for a short story that appeared in 1978 in The Year's Best Horror Stories (along with Stephen King's "Children of the Corn", which also made the cut that year), Home was most...
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7. Tyler Eckford
1985-. (aged 41)
ice hockey player
Tyler Eckford is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Eckford played for the New Jersey Devils organization of the National Hockey League (NHL).
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8. Dion Knelsen
1989-. (aged 37)
ice hockey player
Dion Knelsen is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is currently playing with EHC Olten of the Swiss League (SL).
9. Dwayne Zinger
1976-. (aged 50)
ice hockey player
Dwayne Zinger is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played briefly in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Washington Capitals.
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10. Jeff Penner
1987-. (aged 39)
ice hockey player
Jeffrey Ryan Penner is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played two National Hockey League (NHL) games with the Boston Bruins during the 2009–10 season.
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11. Timothy Mark Burgess
1956-. (aged 70)
lawyer
judge
Timothy Mark Burgess is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Alaska. He served as the District of Alaska's U.S. attorney from 2001 to 2005.
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12. Tyler Kornfield
1991-. (aged 35)
cross-country skier
Tyler Kornfield is an American Olympic cross-country skier.
13. Dallas Ferguson
1972-. (aged 54)
ice hockey player
Dallas Ferguson is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman and coach. Ferguson retired as a player in 2000 following a four-year professional career in the West Coast Hockey League with the Alaska Gold Kings and Anchorage Aces.
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14. Jay Kerttula
1928-2020 (aged 92)
real estate developer
farmer
politician
Jalmar Martin "Jay" Kerttula was an American businessman, farmer, and politician in Alaska. A member of the Democratic Party, Kerttula was the longest-serving member of the Alaska Legislature, having served in the House from 1961 to 1963 and 1965 to 1973 and in the Senate from 1973 to 1995, until his record was surpassed by Lyman Hoffman in 2019.
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15. Darcy Campbell
1984-. (aged 42)
ice hockey player
Darcy Campbell is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
16. Georgianna Lincoln
1943-. (aged 83)
politician
Georgianna Lincoln is an American politician and businesswoman.
17. Bart LeBon
1952-. (aged 74)
politician
banker
Barton S. "Bart" LeBon is an American politician and retired banker who served as a member of the Alaska House of Representatives from 2019 to 2023. He defeated Democrat Kathryn Dodge in the 2018 Alaska elections by a margin of only one vote.
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18. Paul Seaton
1945-. (aged 81)
teacher
politician
Paul K. Seaton is a former Republican member of the Alaska House of Representatives, who represented the southern Kenai Peninsula between 2003 and 2018.
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19. Kyle Greentree
1983-. (aged 43)
ice hockey player
Kyle Greentree is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. An undrafted player, he previously played two games each for the Philadelphia Flyers and Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL).
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20. Curtis Fraser
1982-. (aged 44)
ice hockey player
Curtis Fraser is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre.
21. Adam Wool
businessperson
politician
Adam Wool is a former American politician who served as a member of the Alaska House of Representatives from District 5. He was a member of the Democratic Party. Wool is now living in his home state after retirement as a physics teacher at the Advanced Math & Science Academy Charter School.
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22. Reggie Joule
1952-. (aged 74)
athlete
politician
administrator
Reginald L. "Reggie" Joule, Jr. is a politician in the U.S. state of Alaska. Between 2012 and 2015, Joule served a three-year term as mayor of the Northwest Arctic Borough. He announced his intention to retire from public service at the end of his term.
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23. Tyler Morley
1991-. (aged 35)
ice hockey player
Tyler Morley is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre. He is currently playing for EHC Kloten in the National League (NL). He made his professional debut with the San Diego Gulls in the American Hockey League (AHL) after concluding a collegiate career in the NCAA Division I with the Alaska Nanooks.
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24. Mark Myers
1955-. (aged 71)
geologist
Mark D. Myers is an American geologist who currently serves as a commissioner for the U.S. Arctic Research Commission. He also served as the 14th director of the U.S. Geological Survey. He was nominated by President George W. Bush on May 3, 2006, confirmed by the U.S. Senate, and sworn in September 26, 2006. Dr. Myers replaced prior director Charles...
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25. Chris Birch
1950-2019 (aged 69)
civil servant
civil engineer
mining engineer
politician
Christopher Jim Birch was an American politician who served as a member of the Alaska Senate for District M in 2019 and the Alaska House of Representatives for the 26th District from 2017 to 2019. Birch was a member of the Republican Party.
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26. Jamie Lynn Gray
1984-. (aged 42)
sport shooter
Jamie Lynn Corkish is an American sport shooter who won a gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
27. Ben Grossmann
Ben Grossmann is a visual effects supervisor and film producer based in Los Angeles. He won an Oscar for Hugo in 2012, and a Primetime Emmy Award for The Triangle in 2006. He is the co-founder and CEO of Magnopus, a cross-reality experience company.
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28. Terry Miller
1942-1989 (aged 47)
businessperson
politician
Terrence Brent Miller was an American businessman and politician. Miller served as the fourth lieutenant governor of Alaska from 1978 to 1982. His political career, which began while he was in his early 20s, lasted over two decades and was cut short by his death from lung cancer at age 46.
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29. Jordan Hendry
1984-. (aged 42)
ice hockey player
Jordan Hendry is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Chicago Blackhawks and Anaheim Ducks. He won the Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks in 2010.
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30. Cody Kunyk
1990-. (aged 36)
ice hockey player
Cody Kunyk is a Canadian ice hockey forward currently under contract to Augsburger Panther of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). He has formerly played with the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League. (NHL)
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31. Brent Sass
1980-. (aged 46)
dogsled musher
Brent Sass is an American dog musher who is one of only six people to have won both the Iditarod and Yukon Quest sled dog races.
32. DeeDee Jonrowe
1953-. (aged 73)
dogsled musher
DeeDee Ann Jonrowe is an American kennel owner and dog musher who is a three-time runner up in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. She is a very popular figure in the sport, and her completion of the 1,049-mile+ (1,600+ km) race in 2003 just three weeks after completing chemotherapy for breast cancer received widespread publicity.
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33. Tom Albanese
1957-. (aged 69)
businessperson
Tom Albanese was the former chief executive officer of the Vedanta Resources and was the former chief executive officer and a board member of the Rio Tinto Group. He was asked to resign from Rio Tinto on January 17, 2013 and was replaced by Sam Walsh. Albanese to stepped down as Vedanta CEO in August 2017.
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34. Scott Kawasaki
1975-. (aged 51)
politician
Scott Jiu Wo Kawasaki is an American healthcare professional and politician from Alaska. A Democrat, he is a member of the Alaska Senate representing the state's District P, which includes neighborhoods within the city limits of Fairbanks.
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35. Aaron Voros
1981-. (aged 45)
ice hockey player
Aaron Voros is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Voros played in the National Hockey League with the Minnesota Wild, New York Rangers and Anaheim Ducks between 2007 and 2011. He served two consecutive years as the team president of the NHL Players Association for the New York Rangers and one year for the Anaheim Ducks.
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36. Merav Ben-David
1959-. (aged 67)
ecologist
Merav Ben-David is an Israeli-American ecologist, zoologist, and politician who is the chair of the Department of Zoology and Physiology at the University of Wyoming. She was the Democratic nominee in the 2020 United States Senate election in Wyoming, losing to former Congresswoman Cynthia Lummis in the general election. She ran for state representative from Wyoming's 46th District in 2022.
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37. James Wickersham
1857-1939 (aged 82)
lawyer
judge
politician
James Wickersham was a district judge for Alaska, appointed by U.S. President William McKinley to the Third Judicial District in 1900. He resigned his post in 1908 and was subsequently elected as Alaska's delegate to Congress, serving until 1917 and then being re-elected in 1930. He was instrumental in the passage of the Organic Act of 1912, which granted Alaska...
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38. Jay Hammond
1922-2005 (aged 83)
politician
Jay Sterner Hammond was an American politician of the Republican Party, who served as the fourth governor of Alaska from 1974 to 1982. Hammond was born in Troy, New York and served as a Marine Corps fighter pilot in World War II with the Black Sheep Squadron. In 1946, he moved to Alaska where he worked as a bush pilot....
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39. Morris Thompson
1939-2000 (aged 61)
civil servant
businessperson
electronics technician
Morris "Morrie" Thompson was an Alaska Native leader, American businessman and political appointee working on matters related to Alaska Natives. Thompson was best known as the official in charge of the Bureau of Indian Affairs for the U.S. state of Alaska during the 1970s, and later as head of Doyon, Limited, the Alaska Native Regional Corporation for Interior Alaska. Following...
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40. Lyman Hoffman
1950-. (aged 76)
politician
Lyman F. Hoffman is a Yup'ik politician and Democratic member of the Alaska Senate since 1995. He represents the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska Peninsula, and Aleutian Islands. He also served in the Senate from 1991 to 1993 previously, and was a member of the Alaska House of Representatives from 1987−91 and 1993−95.
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41. Bob Bartlett
1904-1968 (aged 64)
miner
reporter
politician
Edward Lewis "Bob" Bartlett, was an American politician and a member of the Democratic Party. He served as a United States Senator. A key fighter for Alaska statehood, Bartlett served as the Secretary of Alaska Territory from 1939 to 1945, as Alaska's delegate in Congress from 1945 to 1959, and as a U.S. senator from 1959 until his death in...
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42. Brad Oleson
1983-. (aged 43)
basketball player
Bradley Scott Oleson Lashinski is an American-born naturalized Spanish former professional basketball player. He is a 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) tall point guard-shooting guard. His hometown of North Pole, Alaska, celebrates Brad Oleson Day every year on April 24.
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43. Kameron Hurley
1980-. (aged 46)
novelist
writer of feminist science fiction
feminist
writer
science fiction writer
Kameron Hurley is an American science fiction and fantasy writer.
44. George Schaller
1933-. (aged 93)
naturalist
biologist
environmentalist
zoologist
George Beals Schaller is an American mammalogist, biologist, conservationist and author. Schaller is recognized by many as the world's preeminent field biologist, studying wildlife throughout Africa, Asia and South America. Born in Berlin, Schaller grew up in Germany, but moved to Missouri as a teen. He is vice president of Panthera Corporation and serves as chairman of their Cat Advisory...
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45. Matthew Emmons
1981-. (aged 45)
sport shooter
coach
Matthew D. Emmons is an American rifle shooter. He competed in various events at the 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016 Olympics and won a gold, a silver, and a bronze medal.
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46. Colton Parayko
1993-. (aged 33)
ice hockey player
Colton Wyatt Parayko is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is a defenceman and alternate captain for the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL). Growing up in St. Albert, Alberta, Parayko played minor ice hockey with the St. Albert Flyers and Fort McMurray Oil Barons before earning a scholarship to the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He...
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47. Joe Miller
1967-. (aged 59)
lawyer
judge
politician
Joseph Wayne Miller is an American attorney and politician. He is best known as the runner-up in both the 2010 United States Senate election in Alaska and the 2016 United States Senate election in Alaska. A member of the Republican Party, he was defeated by fellow Republican Lisa Murkowski in both races, including in 2010, when Murkowski ran as a...
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48. Mary Peltola
1973-. (aged 53)
politician
judge
Mary Sattler Peltola is an American politician and former tribal judge who served as the U.S. representative from Alaska's at-large congressional district from 2022 to 2025. A moderate Blue Dog Democrat, she previously served as a judge on the Orutsararmiut Native Council's tribal court, executive director of the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, Bethel city councilor, and member of the...
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49. Robert B. Duncan
1920-2011 (aged 91)
lawyer
politician
Robert Blackford Duncan was an American politician from the state of Oregon. A Democrat, he served multiple terms in the Oregon Legislative Assembly and as a U.S. congressman from Oregon. In the Oregon House of Representatives he served as speaker for four years, and in the U.S. House he represented two different districts. The Illinois native and World War II...
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50. Walter Bickford
1942-. (aged 84)
politician
Walter E. Bickford is an American civil engineer and politician who served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1977 to 1983 and served as Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Fisheries and Wildlife from 1983 to 1991. In 1999 he ran in the special election for the Massachusetts Senate seat in the Middlesex and Worcester District vacated by Robert...
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51. John Binkley
1953-. (aged 73)
businessperson
politician
John Emerson "Johne" Binkley is a riverboat pilot, businessman and Republican politician from the U.S. state of Alaska. Binkley served for one term apiece in the Alaska House of Representatives and the Alaska Senate during the mid and late 1980s, but is perhaps better known for his candidacy for governor of Alaska in the 2006 primary election. In that election,...
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52. Tom Emmer
1961-. (aged 65)
radio personality
lawyer
politician
Thomas Earl Emmer Jr. is an American attorney, lobbyist, and politician who has served as majority whip in the United States House of Representatives since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he has represented Minnesota's 6th congressional district since 2015. During his tenure in Congress, he has been known as a staunch advocate for the crypto industry.
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53. Bill Thomas
1941-. (aged 85)
academic
politician
William Thomas is an American professional ice hockey player. He currently plays right wing for Anyang Halla, member of the Asia League Ice Hockey (AL).
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54. Niilo Koponen
1928-2013 (aged 85)
teacher
businessperson
politician
Niilo Emil Koponen was an American educator and politician.
55. Chad Johnson
1986-. (aged 40)
ice hockey player
Chad Ochocinco Johnson, known from 2008 to 2012 as Chad Ochocinco, is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Santa Monica Corsairs and the Oregon State Beavers, and played for the Cincinnati Bengals and the New England Patriots during his tenure...
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56. Margaret Elizabeth Murie
1902-2003 (aged 101)
botanical collector
scientific collector
writer
conservationist
activist
Margaret Elizabeth Thomas "Mardy" Murie was an American naturalist, writer, adventurer, and conservationist. Dubbed the "Grandmother of the Conservation Movement" by both the Sierra Club and the Wilderness Society, she helped in the passage of the Wilderness Act, and was instrumental in creating the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. She was the recipient of the Audubon Medal, the John Muir Award,...
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57. Mike J. Dunleavy
1961-. (aged 65)
school superintendent
politician
school teacher
Michael James Dunleavy is an American politician and educator serving since 2018 as the 12th governor of Alaska. A member of the Republican Party, he served from 2013 to 2018 as a member of the Alaska Senate. He defeated former U.S. senator Mark Begich in the 2018 gubernatorial election after incumbent governor Bill Walker dropped out of the race, and...
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58. Jushay Rockett
1984-. (aged 42)
basketball player
Jushay Rockett is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Mississauga Power of the National Basketball League of Canada (NBL).
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59. Pete Kelly
1956-. (aged 70)
politician
Peter Gene Kelly is an American politician who served as a member of the Alaska Senate. He also served as President of the Alaska State Senate from 2017 to 2019. Kelly previously served in the Alaska Legislature in the Alaska House of Representatives and Senate from 1995 until 2003. He was defeated for re-election in 2018, losing to state representative...
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60. J. Jill Robinson
1955-. (aged 71)
editor
novelist
Jacqueline Jill Robinson is a Canadian writer and editor. She is the author of a novel and four collections of short stories. Her fiction and creative nonfiction have appeared in a wide variety of magazines and literary journals including Geist, the Antigonish Review, Event, Prairie Fire and the Windsor Review. Her novel, More In Anger, published in 2012, tells the...
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61. Syun-Ichi Akasofu
1930-. (aged 96)
geophysicist
climatologist
earth scientist
Syun-Ichi Akasofu is the founding director of the International Arctic Research Center of the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF), serving in that position from the center's establishment in 1998 until January 2007. Previously he had been director of the university's Geophysical Institute from 1986.
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62. Mike Kelly
1942-2016 (aged 74)
businessperson
chief executive officer
aircraft pilot
politician
Colonel Michael Joseph Kelly, AM is an Australian former politician who twice represented the Division of Eden-Monaro in the Parliament of Australia, from 2007 to 2013 and again from 2016 to 2020. He is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP).
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