Natalia Shakhova and Igor Semiletov, International Arctic Research Center, published a paper in the March 5 edition of the journal Science showing that sections of permafrost in the Arctic Ocean seafloor are leaking large amounts of the greenhouse gas methane into the atmosphere. Shakhova and Semiletov hold joint appointments with the Pacific Oceanological Institute, part of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Other scientists at the institute and at Stockholm University collaborated on the paper.

Bernie Karl was selected as the 34th Business Leader of the Year by the School of Management. He will be honored at a banquet Friday, March 19, from 6 – 10 p.m. at the Princess Riverside Lodge, with no-host cocktails at 6 p.m. and dinner at 7 p.m. Tickets are $75, $50 for UAF students. For more information call 474-7042 or e-mail tammy.tragis@alaska.edu.

Brian Barnes, Institute of Arctic Biology, was the guest editor of a specially commissioned collection of reviews published in the Journal of Experimental Biology Feb. 26 issue.

Shiva Hullavarad and Nilima Hullavarad, Office of Electronic Miniaturization, authored "Fascinating World of Nanomaterials, Applications and Technology Hurdles in Commercial Production," which was accepted for publication in the fall 2009 Materials Research Society Fall Meeting Symposium P Proceedings.

Amy Ahnaughuq Topkok, College of Rural and Community Development and Sean Asiqluq Topkok, Alaska Native Knowledge Network, along with their three sons, will perform Inupiaq dancing as part of the Pavva Inupiaq Dancers at the State of the Arctic conference in Miami, Fla. March 15 – 17.

Partners For Progress in Delta, a consortium of education partners including the Tanana Valley Campus and Cooperative Extension Service, has a new website and video highlighting its successes. PPD's next board meeting is March 17 in Delta Junction.

The UA Museum of the North is seeking entries for the 2010 Artisan Expo and Sale. Artists working in all mediums and living in Alaska or the circumpolar North are welcome to apply. The expo takes place Nov. 19 – 20. Deadline for applications is Saturday, May 5.

Cooperative Extension Service's 2009 Program Highlights (PDF) is now available online. Check out the work CES has done around the state.

The UAF Women's Center is celebrating Women's History Month with events throughout March. Check out the center's blog for more information.

Graduation cap and gown pre-orders are now being accepted by the UAF Bookstore. Orders are due by March 17.

The Department of Communication is presenting at the 81st annual Western States Communication Association convention in Anchorage March 5 – 9. The department is represented by students, alumni and faculty including undergraduate students Brandon Greenstreet and Liz Rossi; graduate students Joey Bays, Linda Bergsone, Donald Crocker, Megan Damario, Alan Fredericksen, Ross Imbler, Inna Ishchenko, Star Lee, Jane Piyamahapong, Marsha Schirack, Megan Sweeney and Charu Uppal; alumni Meadow Bailey, Greg Merdes and Karri VanDeventer; and faculty members Bob Arundale, Christie Cooper, Jean Richey and Karen Taylor.

The 2010 Alaska Weather Symposium takes place Tuesday – Wednesday, March 9 – 10, in Elvey Auditorium and the Globe Room. More than 40 scientists will discuss how to improve current weather forecasts and develop more accurate forecasting methods.

The UAF Art Department is hosting Sakura Koretsune's BFA exhibition in the gallery Monday, March 8 – Friday, March 26. The department will also host a metalsmithing presentation by Joan Tenenbaum Friday, March 12, from 7 – 9 p.m. in Schaible Auditorium. For more information call 474-7530.

The University Employee Assistance Program provider, ComPsych, hosts webinars on select Wednesdays throughout the year, including Emergency Preparedness for Home and Family (PDF) March 17 at 11 a.m. Webinars are 45 minutes long. For more information call Anne Sakumoto at 786-1432.

The UA Museum of the North presents, "Survivor Kasatochi: Insects After the Eruption," by museum entomology curator Derek Sikes, Thursday, March 18, at 7 p.m. Admission is free. Sikes will discuss his work on Kasatochi Island in the Aleutian Islands, both before and after an August 2008 volcanic eruption essentially sterilized the island.

UAF Staff Council will meet Friday, March 19, at 8:45 a.m. in the Wood Center Carol Brown Ballroom. The council's monthly newsletter is available online.

The UAF Student Drama Association presents Winter Shorts, student-directed and -produced one-act plays, featuring Back to Normal; Love and Peace, Mary Jo; Poetica Theatre; and Ground Squirrel Improv. Show times are Friday and Saturday, March 19 – 20 and March 26 – 27, at 8:15 p.m., and Sunday, March 28, at 2 p.m., in the Salisbury Theatre. Admission is $8 general or $6 with a UAF ID.

The Skiathon, a 20k classic ski race and tour, takes place Saturday, March 20, on the UAF ski trails. Registration is $15 by March 19 or $40 after March 19. Register at the Wood Center, Beaver Sports or Raven Cross Country.

The UAF Sustainable Campus Task Force presents the Bioneers Film Fest Thursday – Friday, March 25 – 26, at 7 p.m. in Schaible Auditorium. The film fest showcases speakers from the 2009 Bioneers conference and is a fundraiser for the Earth Day fair in April. Admission is $2.

Discover UAF: Inside Out, hosted by the Office of Admissions, takes place Friday, March 26. Inside Out is an open house for high school juniors and seniors designed to showcase the university. Registration is required, but the event is free.

The fifth annual Major Mania, presented by the Division of General Studies and the Academic Advising Center, takes place Friday, March 26 from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. in Wood Center. For more information call 474-6396 or e-mail ginny@alaska.edu.

The UA Museum of the North is hosting a Family Science Day, Looking for Life Across the Universe, Saturday, March 27, from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Tickets are $8 and must be purchased in advance.

The 16th annual Beat Beethoven 5K race, sponsored by the Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra, starts at the Patty Center Saturday, April 10, at 11 a.m. For more information call 474-5733.

A Passport to Chocolate, the 2010 UA Museum of the North Chocolate Bash, takes place Saturday, April 10, from 7:30 – 10 p.m. Tickets are $50. For more information call 474-7505.

Check out the UAF Weekly Science Calendar, sponsored by the Center for Global Change and Arctic System Research, for science-related events at UAF.

Visit UAF's online calendar for information on UAF events or to publicize an event.

The Arctic Region Supercomputing Center will acquire a new 11,648-computer core Cray supercomputer as part of a $45 million award from the U.S. Department of Defense. The new supercomputer will be installed later this year at the National Petascale Computing Facility at the University of Illinois and remotely operated by ARSC.

Nanook hockey players Andy Taranto and Scott Enders were named Central Collegiate Hockey Association players of the week. Taranto was named rookie of the week and Enders was named defenseman of the week. Taranto was also chosen as the CCM CCHA Rookie of the Month for February for the second time this season.

The Nanook hockey team has advanced to the CCHA quarterfinals and will face off with Northern Michigan Friday – Sunday, March 12 – 14, in Marquette, Mich. 

The Alaska Nanook athletic event scores from last week are: Home games – hockey vs. Western Michigan, 4-0 and 4-1; men's basketball vs. Seattle Pacific, 113-105, and vs. Northwest Nazarene, 77-75; women's basketball vs. Seattle Pacific, 47-59, and vs. Northwest Nazarene, 45-81.

March 10: Nominations for the spring UAF Exceptional Student Employee Award are due. For more information call Career Services at 474-7596.

March 19: Nominations for the 2010 Staff Make Students Count award are due.

March 19: Nominations for several UAF awards administered through the UAF Staff Council, including the Chancellor's Staff Recognition Award, the Chancellor's Supervisory Recognition Award and the Outstanding Staff Council Achievement Award, are due.

March 25: Nominations for the Brina Kessel Medal for Excellence in Science are due. For more information contact Hild Peters at 474-7941 or hmpeters@alaska.edu.

March 26: Applications for the Art Buswell Service Award are due.

March 31: Nominations (PDF) for the Chancellor's Diversity Award (PDF) are due. For more information contact Ginny Tschanz at vrtschanz@alaska.edu or Abel Bult-Ito at abultito@alaska.edu.

April 2: Nominations for honorary degrees for Commencement 2011 are due.

April 2: Applications for graduation with leadership honors are due.

June 4: Abstracts submissions for the 26th Lowell Wakefield Fisheries Symposium, Ecosystems 2010: Global Progress on Ecosystems-based Fisheries Management, are due.

Cornerstone banner photo by Todd Paris, UAF Marketing and Communications.