ASTRONAUT, ASTRONOMER AND NATIONAL SCIENCE EDUCATION REFORMER FOCUS OF UAF 80TH ANNIVERSARY FINALE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 30, 1997

Fairbanks, Alaska — Astronomer and former astronaut George "Pinky" Nelson will be in Fairbanks Nov. 5 and Anchorage Nov. 6 as part of the University of Alaska Fairbanks finale for its 80th anniversary celebration.

"Inventing, Discovering, Improving: 80 Years at UAF" is the theme for the finale at the Fairbanks campus, Wednesday, Nov. 5, featuring a day-long series of events, including special outreach to local high school students and high school science teachers, displays in the Regents' Great Hall, a 1:30 p.m. faculty convocation at Salisbury Theater and a 7 p.m. public lecture featuring Pinky Nelson at Davis Concert Hall.

A public lecture with Nelson is scheduled at the East Anchorage High School Auditorium Thursday, Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. Both evening presentations are sponsored in part by ARCO Alaska.

Nelson became a NASA astronaut in 1978, the same year he received his doctorate in astronomy from the University of Washington, Seattle. He was 28 when he joined the NASA team and logged a total of 411 hours in space by the time he retired in 1989. His first NASA mission was aboard the space shuttle Challenger in 1984.

He has also conducted astrophysics and materials processing experiments aboard the space shuttle Columbia and Discovery. Nelson and his crew were aboard the first flight to be flown after the Challenger accident.

The former astronaut currently serves as deputy director of the American Association for the Advancement of Science's "Project 2061." As deputy director he develops long-term strategies in R&D and builds alliances between scientific and education communities. He is an associate professor of astronomy and associate professor of education at the University of Washington, Seattle, where he has also served as assistant provost.

As a leader in national science education reform, Nelson will highlight the importance of applied science and the key role universities have in transferring research into practical applications to meet state and national priorities.

Since its founding in 1917, UAF has developed into an internationally respected institution. UAF faculty have produced half of all published research on arctic-related issues. Practical applications of UAF research have provided information needed to meet key, critical state concerns, such as management of the state's multi-million dollar fishing industry to engineering highways and public facilities built to last in the Arctic.

Throughout 1997, UAF has been noting its 80 years of progress in higher education. From territorial days to statehood and now into the 21st century, UAF has played a major role in the economic development, growth and diversification of Alaska. UAF serves 113 communities statewide, and is the only university in Alaska offering degrees at the Ph.D. level.

CONTACT: UAF Public Information Officer Debra Damron, (907) 474-7122.

RMJ/10-1-97/98-018ma