Welcome to the spring 2009 edition of Frontiers, the research publication of the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

The stories written across these pages are testimonials to how our researchers expand the frontiers of knowledge—and how that knowledge contributes to improving our environment, our culture and our lives. Whether it is probing the mesosphere with lasers, charting the retreat of arctic sea ice, working with communities to address their alternate energy options or exploring the roots of Alaska Native languages, this is research that matters.

This issue features an interview with Cathy Cahill, associate professor of atmospheric chemistry at the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics and the Geophysical Institute. Cathy epitomizes the energy, creativity and dedication to both her specialty and her students that UAF is widely known for. Her work in monitoring atmospheric pollutants spans such intriguing areas as volcanic aerosols, arctic haze and battlefield pollution in the Middle East. I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I enjoyed interviewing Cathy.

Academic research has always returned manifold on both federal and state investment. The burgeoning national economy of the post-World War II era was principally due to the country’s investment in academic research. New medicines, new crop strains, more efficient engines, expanded energy options, exploration of the depths of time and space—all powered the country’s economic engine and inspired a generation of American scientists. But lawmakers, looking only toward short-term fixes, failed to recognize the longer-term link between basic research funding and economic security.

Over the last quarter century, inadequate federal funding has crippled academic research. While national funding agencies, time and again, have been promised hefty increases to effectively address the expanded national need for research, these funds have yet to materialize. Current support for basic research in constant dollars is not appreciably above its 2001 level. Some funding agency programs are able to accept fewer than one out of ten proposals submitted. Such low rates of acceptance reduce the competitive process of peer review to little more than a pretense and severely impair our nation’s ability to maintain leadership in technology development. 

As our country moves forward to repair our economy and set our future on course, let’s hope this year ushers in a new era of support for research that will ensure continued success for our nation.

Virgil (Buck) Sharpton
Vice Chancellor for Research
University of Alaska Fairbanks