The 2025 recipients of the George Fischer International Student Travel Award are Alyssa Pietraszek from the University of Haifa and Alexandra Tyas from the University of Iceland. Because 2019 was not awarded and 2021 was a virtual conference, the ACUA was able to give the 2025 award to two outstanding recipients this year!

Alexandra Tyas, winner of the 2025 George Fischer International Student Travel Award

Alexandra Tyas is a fourth-year Ph.D. student in Archaeology at the University of Iceland, supervised by Dr. Gavin Lucas, Dr. Della Scott-Ireton, and Dr. Katrin Anna Lund. She holds a master’s degree in Coastal and Marine Management from the University Centre of the Westfjords, Iceland, and a bachelor’s degree in Ocean Science from the University of Plymouth, UK. Her doctoral research focuses on creating a management plan to encourage participation of Icelandic communities in underwater site management, addressing gaps in current archaeological practices and challenges in heritage monitoring. Alexandra’s education provides her with a broad perspective on sustainable coastal practices, enabling her to engage effectively with stakeholders and promote collaborative approaches to heritage management.

Please join us in welcoming Alexandra during her presentation: Managing Iceland’s Maritime Cultural Heritage: A Collaborative Plan for the Future

This paper explores the potential of community engagement as a management tool for Iceland’s maritime archaeological sites. Given the universal challenges of managing underwater heritage, involving local communities, particularly sports divers, has shown promise. Initial training sessions and surveys revealed a strong interest in participation. However, challenges with communication and professional attitudes towards public involvement highlighted the need for a better base infrastructure and a more inclusive archaeological practice, before work with the community can begin. The research therefore shifted from community engagement to addressing professional perspectives, involving further interviews, surveys, workshops, and educational initiatives. This three-year research, forming a doctoral degree, aims to provide management recommendations to foster a collaborative environment. This paper will outline the main results of the research, and offer the proposed plan for the sustainable management of Iceland’s maritime cultural heritage.


Alyssa Pietraszek, winner of the 2025 George Fischer International Student Travel Award

Alyssa Pietraszek is a marine geoarchaeologist who examines the intricate relationship between human societies and marine environments. She holds a B.Sc. in Geology and Geological Oceanography and a B.A. in French from the University of Rhode Island, as well as a M.Sc. in Marine Geosciences from the Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences at the University of Haifa. Currently, Alyssa is finalizing her Ph.D. in Marine Geosciences at the University of Haifa. With several years of experience as an archaeological supervisor and geoarchaeologist, her research focuses on refining our understanding of Holocene sea-level changes by integrating geological and archaeological methods.

Please join us in welcoming Alyssa during her presentation: Dynamic Coasts and Ancient Landscapes: A Study of Archaeological and Geomorphological Interactions in the Eastern Mediterranean

Coastal zones are dynamic environments, constantly reshaped by sediment deposition, erosion, sea-level fluctuations, shoreline retreat, and episodic events such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and tsunamis. These processes, operating at varied temporal and spatial scales, pose significant challenges to reconstructing paleoshorelines and determining the original seaward extents of coastal archaeological sites. However, integrating coastal archaeological evidence with geomorphological sea-level markers can provide a more precise approach. This study focuses on the spatial relationships between these coastal features—formed over centuries to millennia—and contemporaneous, permanent archaeological remains, such as buildings, fortifications, and wells. By bridging the gap between geomorphology and archaeology, this research holds significant potential for improving our understanding of coastal landscape evolution and human-environmental interactions in dynamic coastal settings, particularly in light of current and projected sea-level rise.