The ACMC leadership is organized within the UAF Geophysical Institute as a hub for University of Alaska researchers engaged in critical minerals research. We are organized to better serve industry needs as well as to be a centralized location for federal and state agencies to engage with the University of Alaska in the critical minerals space. Contact us at: lamunk@alaska.edu
Director of the ACMC
Dr. Lee Ann Munk, Director of the ACMC, is an entrepreneurial leader at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute. She has over two decades of experience leading research teams across industry-academia-government coalitions in North and South America. Her expertise is in the exploration of critical mineral deposits, their formation, and environmental aspects of their extraction and production, including copper, lithium, and REEs. Her team is a global leader in addressing technical gaps identified by the mining industry through applications of novel research and development, and generating innovative solutions at the production scale and to derisk projects. She has a consistent record of industry and government-funded projects and over 50 scientific publications. She is a fellow of the Society of Economic Geologists, the Geological Society of America, and the International Lithium Association.
Contact Lee Ann Munk at lamunk@alaska.edu
Deputy Director of the ACMC
Steven Masterman, Deputy Director of the ACMC, retired as Alaska’s State Geologist after a career in the mining industry, state highway department, and finally the state geological survey. He has served as Alaska’s Chief Science Officer, Chair of the Alaska Geospatial Council, President of the Association of American State Geologists (AASG), is a Director of the Alaska Miners Association, and has served on numerous board and commissions. Masterman’s areas of expertise include economic geology, engineering geology, and the geology and mineral deposits of Alaska.
Contact Steven Masterman at ssmasterman@alaska.edu
Innovation and Strategy Officer of the ACMC
Christi Bell, Innovation and Strategy Officer of the ACMC, brings over three decades of experience in economic development, entrepreneurship, and strategic partnerships across Alaska. She previously served as Associate Vice Chancellor and Executive Director of the UAA Business Enterprise Institute, leading statewide programs including the Alaska SBDC, Center for Economic Development, and Manufacturing Extension Partnership. Christi has helped launch and scale initiatives such as Lemonade Day Alaska, AK SourceLink, and the UA/APU Business Plan Competition, and has worked closely with Alaska Native Corporations, industry, and federal partners to advance economic diversification. She holds a CEcD from the International Economic Development Council and graduate degrees in Business and Resource Management from the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Contact Chrisi Bell at cabell2@alaska.edu
Chief Scientist of the ACMC
Sean Regan, Chief Scientist of the ACMC, has a broad background in geochronology, with most emphasis given to U–Th-Pb systematics of a wide array of chronometers (monazite, zircon, rutile, apatite, and columbite) and has helped oversee the new Noble Gas Mass Spectrometer at the Geophysical Institute. His background is broadly in igneous and metamorphic petrology, ductile structure, and critical minerals systems. Sean has a BSc from St. Lawrence University, and an MSc and PhD from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he worked extensively on petrochronology of high-grade gneiss terranes. After briefly working as a research geologist at the US Geological Survey, Sean accepted an Assistant Professor position at the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 2018 and joined the Geophysical Institute in 2020. His current research covers a broad range of topics including structural evolution of the Denali fault, magma transport and emplacement, and multi-phase geochronology of Critical Mineral systems.
Contact Sean Regan at sregan5@alaska.edu