He began as a graduate student seeking an opportunity when he came to UAF in 1958 to study the aurora borealis. On Wednesday, Syun Akasofu retired as International Arctic Research Center director to focus on his auroral physics research.

"My older academic studies became hobbies, so now that I am retired I plan to work on my research and teach auroral physics at the university," Akasofu said.

Over the next 49 years, Akasofu became a professor of geophysics, the director of the Geophysical Institute, the founder of countless programs and research facilities and the director of the IARC.

His influence and success has brought worldwide attention, research and state of the art facilities to UAF. He was instrumental in establishing numerous agreements and collaborations with other institutions and countries, including Japan.

Over his career, Akasofu brought in almost $200 million to fund projects such as the Poker Flat Research Range upgrade, the Alaska Volcano Observatory, the Arctic Region Supercomputing Center, and most recently the IARC Building. Through his years as an advocate for science of UAF, Akasofu has worked closely with U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens collaborating on many projects.

"Akasofu and I have been friends for more than 20 years," Stevens said in a statement. "Throughout the years, Akasofu has also been a consistent source of advice and counsel. I have invited him to testify before Congressional committees on a number of occasions. His contributions to scientific research at the university and worldwide will be felt for many years to come."

Akasofu's most recent achievement, IARC, was conceived in the 1990s to serve as a focal point of international collaboration and to provide the arctic research community with an opportunity to collaborate on arctic science.

"I wanted to start IARC because at the G.I. researchers and professors were all working on their own research, what they were specifically interested," Akasofu said. "Everyone [was] working on their own research, playing their own song and it was hard to make that into a G.I. symphony."

About 10 years ago, Akasofu said he "started thinking that we needed an institution that will look at climate change and that is what we do here at IARC."

"We are all working on different aspects of climate change," he said. "At IARC we have a symphony."

As a visionary, Akasofu worked to establish his international center building connections between research institutes around the world.

"The problems we are working on at IARC are too big for any one research institution, they are problems of international magnitude," said Larry Hinzman, who took over as the center's director. "IARC exists to pool the resources from research institutions around the world to solve the global questions."

John Walsh, the chief climate change scientist at UAF, said the research environment at the center shields scientists from administrative burdens, allowing them to concentrate on their research. Much of that is thanks to Akasofu, he said.

"He is effective as an administrator and a good fit for this university and our research," Walsh said. "Scientists collaborating on world wide issues was his vision for this center."

As G.I. director starting in 1986, Akasofu worked to secure funding for many large-scale research projects.

When closure threatened the Poker Flat Research Range, the only high altitude sounding range in the United States, Akasofu collaborated with Stevens to keep it operational.

Akasofu was also instrumental in establishing the Alaska Volcano Observatory, which was founded in 1988. G.I. scientists predicted the eruption of Mount Redoubt in 1989, and Akasofu alerted federal authorities of the imminent danger.

But a 747 airliner still managed to fly through the ash cloud. It nearly crashed.

"When I heard this I called and asked FAA why they did not inform air traffic of the eruption, they said it was not their job," Akasofu said.

None of the agencies involved in monitoring aspects of the eruption would claim responsibility for the cloud.

In response to the disaster, Akasofu pushed to improve volcano observations in Alaska.

"His strength was in long range vision," said Ken Dean, manager of the observatory's satellite section. "His vision of where science was going and what needed to be done."

Nettie Labelle-Hamer the director of the Alaska Satellite Facility, was an undergraduate student at UAF and worked for Akasofu in physics when he was a professor at the G.I.

"Syun has been my mentor since 1981, when I worked for him as an undergraduate," she said. "He is very supportive of his students, and he spends a lot of time and effort to give them the guidance they need to succeed."

Labelle-Hamer still maintains a relationship with Akasofu. "I still ask him for advice," she said. "He has been very supportive and helpful collaborating on projects like JAXA," a project with the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency. "He was and still is an excellent teacher and mentor."

Chancellor Steve Jones said Akasofu's accomplishments on behalf of the university have been "amazing."

"Akasofu has been instrumental in building and establishing the strength and capacity of many of our university programs," Jones said. "There is real magic, when you get the right people in the right place. And there has been magic at UAF with Akasofu."