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Greta Burkart honored with Miami Regionals Alumni Masters Award

Picture of Greta Burkart.Miami University Regionals Alumni & Students (MURALS) honored Dr. Greta Burkhart with the second annual Miami Regionals Alumni Masters Award on Wednesday, March 14. 

Burkhart shared the experiences that took her from Miami Regionals' Hamilton campus to the Arctic wilderness, and describe the beautiful and perilous factors that make the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge one of a kind.

Burkart began her studies at Miami University Hamilton and originally intended to major in art. With the encouragement of some of her professors, she decided to double major in art and biology. Currently, she is the sole aquatic ecologist at the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska (ANWR) and one of only two aquatic ecologists for all sixteen National Wildlife Refuges throughout Alaska.

After Burkart graduated from Miami with a Bachelor of Fine Arts as well as a Bachelor of Science in biology, her mentor, Dr. David Berg, pushed her to continue her education. Taking his advice, she moved forward in pursuing graduate school. Dr. Berg introduced her to Dr. Maria Gonzalez, who would ultimately become her master's advisor. Upon completion of her master's in biology from Wright State University, Burkart went on to pursue her Ph.D. in watershed sciences from Utah State University, taking classes in the winter while spending her summers researching in Arctic Alaska.

Upon completion of her doctoral degree, Burkart began working for the Federal Government, where she has worked for the past ten years. In her role at ANWR, she studies the health and sustainability of the aquatic life found in the refuge's 19 million acres of untouched Alaskan wilderness.