AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE MEETS IN FAIRBANKS— UAF TO HOST

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 6, 1995

Fairbanks, Alaska - The arctic division of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) will hold its 46th annual meeting in Fairbanks Sept. 19 - 22. Conference Chair Robert White, director of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Institute of Arctic Biology, says scientists and graduate students from Russia, Canada and the U.S. will participate.

White says the focus of this year’s meeting will provide a unique blend of art and science. The theme of this year’s AAAS conference is landscapes — how our surroundings have influenced human migration into the New World, how complex ecological processes impact government policy, and the critical role of the Arctic in understanding the earth’s climate system.

Well-known Alaska artist David Mollett will help open the session Sept. 19. According to White, opening remarks by Mollett and other non-scientists will remind conference-goers that there are broader aspects to the landscape theme of this year’s meeting.

“Scientists generally think in terms of hard facts. As a scientist, my understanding and focus on landscapes is different than that of an artist, or a tourist or an Alaskan Native,” said White. Joining artist David Mollett at the opening session is Wallace Cole of the Denali National Park Wilderness Center to offer a tourist’s perspective, and George Yaska of the Tanana Chiefs Council for a Native perspective.

Conference sessions are open to the public and will include current research on the complex interaction of physical environments, vegetation and animals and how the Arctic plays a key role in influencing global climate change.

Also included on the agenda are discussions of human migration. While it is commonly accepted that the first humans made their way from Asia to Alaska across a land bridge called Beringia, discussions will focus on the influence landscape has had on the habitation of the New World and its effect on language and culture.

Technical sessions include physiology and ecology of wildlife and fisheries resources, ecosystem studies of Prince William Sound, cold regions engineering and a perspective on research potential at Barrow.

UAF’s Institute of Arctic Biology and the UAF Center for Global Change and Arctic System Science are responsible for organizing this year’s AAAS conference in Fairbanks, which coincides with the grand opening Sept. 21 of UAF’s new Natural Sciences Facility and the dedication of the Pearl Berry Boyd Hall. The new state-of-the art science building is the first new classroom facility opened at UAF in nearly 25 years.

Housing information and registration materials for the AAAS meeting are available at UAF's Conferences and Special Events, 907-474-7800.

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Note to Editors: All conference activities will take place at Alaskaland; a press room and phones will be available on-site for reporters.

CONTACT: AAAS Conference Chair Robert White (907) 474-7648, or UAF Public Information Officer Debra Damron (907) 474-7581.

DPD/9-5-95/96-13