The Alaska Sea Grant College Program was recently judged among the nation's best marine research, education and extension programs by a federal review panel during its five-year program review.
UAF was recently designated by Academic Analytics,as one of the top universities in the country for scholarly work in its annual survey of the top-ranked departments and institutions for faculty and scholarly productivity by field and discipline. UAF ranked in the top ten in atmospheric and environmental sciences.
The UA Board of Regents met in December and unanimously approved a proposal to name the IARC Building in honor of Syun-Ichi Akasofu. The board approved a new bachelor's degree in emergency management at UAF that will combine technical emergency services training at TVC and business administration coursed offered by SOM. The board also approved cost increases for the SFOS facility at Lena Point, code corrections for the Fine Arts Building, the schematic design for renovations for the Arctic Health Building and approved the state virology lab on campus. For more information visit www.alaska.edu/bor/.
Poker Flat Research Range has five NASA rockets scheduled to launch in two campaigns though Jan. 27. Two more campaigns are scheduled to launch in February with an additional five rockets. For more information visit www.gi.alaska.edu/pfrr/.
The Alaska Sea Grant Program received brood stock and research specimens of blue king crab collected by fishermen near Pribilof Island. The crab were harvested in an effort aimed at rebuilding the island's collapsed blue king crab fishery.
UAF scientists installed two high frequency radar facilities near Anchor Point and Nanwalek in November 2006 to assist in mapping the surface currents of Cook Inlet. The data can be used for a variety of purposes, including to aid in search and rescue, marine navigation and spill response.
The Borealis Brass, along with undergraduate students Hannah Bjornstad and Allison Stadig and graduate student Brandon Newbold, performed eight concerts in Rome, Italy in December. Due to the positive response to the performances, the group has been invited to record a CD in cooperation with the Fondazione Adkins Chiti: Donne in Musica and received an invitation to future performances.
Read about how Peter Webley uses the computing resources of ARSC to track ash cloud movement in the latest online feature story at www.uaf.edu/news/featured/07/augustine/.
Elena Sparrow has accepted the position of director of the UArctic IPY Higher Education and Outreach Program office. For more information on IPY visit www.uaf.edu/ipy/.
The UA Museum of the North's expansion was featured in the January 2007 issue of Architectural Record.
The GI Map Office has many types, shapes and sizes of state and world maps for sale along with USGS and Canadian topographic maps, nautical charts and National Geographic products. Check it out at IARC room 204. The office is open Monday--Friday 8 a.m.--5 p.m. For more information call 6960.
The Staff Council raffles for the Carolyn Sampson scholarship have brought the principal account balance to more than $60,000, meeting its goal. This fund earns enough interest to award more than $2,000 per year in scholarships.
The 2006 United Way Chili Cookoff winners are: first place Maya Salganek, CLA; second place Cathy Griseto, INBRE; third place Ginny Tschanz, Wood Center; and people's choice Suki McGrady, Dining Services.
The last day for registration, fee payment or 100 percent tuition and fee refund is Jan. 26. The last day for initiated drops and 50 percent tuition refund is Feb. 2. For more information visit the academic calendar at www.uaf.edu/catalog/.
Theatre UAF and the Fairbanks Actors Theatre present The Woman in Black, a frightening performance about a theater and its ghosts, Jan. 19, 20, 26, 27 and Feb. 2, 3 at 8 p.m. and Jan. 21, 28 and Feb. 4 at 2 p.m. in the Salisbury Lab Theatre. Tickets are $10 at the door.
The Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival ACS Winter Edition presents cabaret classes with Januelle Celaire, CLA, Jan. 21--26. Two classes will be held at 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. Cost for the workshop is $125. A performance will be held Jan. 26 at the Westmark Hotel, admission is $10 at the door. For more information visit www.fsaf.org.
The Science for Alaska Lecture Series, presented by the GI, takes place Tuesdays through Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. in the Westmark Gold Room. Lectures are free and open to the public. Upcoming topics include "Sled Dog Science" Jan. 23 by Margaret Eastmand and Denali Lovely, veterinarians for the Yukon Quest, and "Some Like it Hot: Volcanoes in the Infrared" Jan. 30 by Jon Dehn, GI. For more information call 7558 or visit www.scienceforalaska.com.
The UA Museum of the North is hosting "Energy Independence for Alaska," a lecture by Bernie Karl and Gwen Holdmann, Jan. 25 at 7 p.m. Karl and Holdmann will discuss Chena Hot Springs Resort's new geothermal energy system and their ongoing work on alternative energy sources in Alaska. The lecture is free. For more information call 7505.
Theatre UAF is holding auditions Jan. 27 for its spring performances of Picnic and the SDA's Winter Shorts. Script and audition packets are on reserve at the Rasmuson Library.
The UA Museum of the North presents "Southwest Alaska: A World of National Parks and Wildlife Refuges at the Crossroads" by photographer Robert Glenn Ketchum. The exhibit features large-scale landscape portraits and runs though Jan. 28. For more information call 7505.
The Leadership Program is hosting a Saturday of Service in Fairbanks Feb. 3. For more information call 1170 or e-mail volunteer@uaf.edu.
Career Services is hosting the Visitor Industry Job Fair Feb. 7 from 10 a.m.--3 p.m. in Wood Center. For more information call 7596 or visit www.uaf.edu/career/.
The Student Organizations Fair takes place Feb. 7 from 11 a.m.--3 p.m. in Wood Center. Stop by and check out the more than 112 active student and campus clubs.
Michael Krauss, professor emeritus and founder of the Alaska Native Language Center, received the Ken Hale Prize for lifetime achievement from the Society for the Study of Indigenous Languages of the Americas. The Hale prize is the society's highest honor.
Katey Walter, UAF alumna, has received the nation's most prestigious honor for doctoral dissertations from the Council of Graduate Schools. The 2006 award was for mathematics, physical sciences and engineering for her Ph. D. dissertation.
Leonard Kamerling, Museum, co-produced Drums of Winter, a 1988 documentary film on Yup'ik culture, that was recently added to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. Nearly 1,000 films were nominated in 2006, but only 25 were selected.
Richard Collins,GI, and Judy Shepherd, CLA, were selected for Fulbright Scholar grants. Collins will visit the University of Rostock in Germany and Shepherd will visit the University of the West Indies-St. Augustine in Trinidad and Tobago.
Mary Matthews, disability services, was awarded a $2,500 Rasmuson Foundation Individual Artist Project grant. Matthews is a mixed media sculptor.
Lady Nanooks' basketball faces off with UAA Jan. 27 at 7 p.m., Saint Martins Feb. 1 at 5:30 p.m. and Western Oregon Feb. 3 at 2 p.m. in the Patty Center.
UAF men's basketball takes on Saint Martins Feb. 1 at 7:30 p.m. and Western Oregon Feb. 3 at 4 p.m. in the Patty Center.
Nanook hockey faces off against Miami-Ohio Feb. 2--3 at 7 p.m. in the Carlson Center. For more information visit www.alaskananooks.com.
Feb. 15, 2007: All application materials and fees for May 2007 graduation are due. Applications can be found at www.uaf.edu/reg/forms/graduation.pdf. For more information call 7523.
Feb. 15, 2007: Applications for the UA Foundation privately funded scholarships are due. Scholarships are available to students attending any UA campus. For more information visit www.alaska.edu/uafound/.
Feb. 23, 2007: Applications for the 2007 Global Change Student Research grant competition are due. For more information call 5415 or 5818 or visit www.cgc.uaf.edu.
UAF in 2007
Happy New Year! Welcome back to students and faculty as we charge forward with our mission, and thanks to UAF staff as you gear up for the spring semester. These cold temperatures allow us to focus on our work, and look forward to another glorious spring and summer in Alaska
This year marks UAF's 90th anniversary. It's also the start of the International Polar Year (2007-2009), and we have already hosted several IPY events over the past six months. Check out our IPY website at www.uaf.edu/ipy/ to get a taste of what lies ahead. IPY offers UAF an opportunity to bask in the international spotlight for the next 30 months, beginning in earnest now that we've entered 2007. We will also embark on a UAF Vision Task Force as the next step in our 2010 Strategic Plan process to assist in setting priorities, examining initiatives, establishing benchmarks and identifying funding for UAF over the next 10 years.
A new governor and administration, a new legislative session with many new legislators, and a change in state legislative leadership will make our quest for funding for the BIOS project challenging. Your advocacy efforts are vital as we pursue funding for this important facility at UAF. For more information on BIOS visit www.uaf.edu/bios/.
Certainly there are other conditions that will affect our trek through 2007. How we react to these variable circumstances will, in many ways, define for UAF the year we have just entered. I'm pleased to be entering this year with our great faculty, staff, students and stakeholders, collectively dealing with the conditions we face and ensuring success.
Higher education is a noble cause, warranting our collective dedication and commitment. I want to make sure we continue to aim high -- Alaska deserves nothing less than the best university we can be. I appreciate your continued devotion to our students and those we serve.
