November 15, 2013
The National Science Foundation recently made the first round of awards under a program that supports multi- and interdisciplinary science important to understanding the predictability, resiliency and sustainability of the natural and living environment, built environment, natural resource development and governance of the Arctic. Six projects were funded as part of the Arctic Science, Engineering, and Education for Sustainability program; five out of the six grants were awarded to UAF.
Anupma Prakash, Geophysical Institute Remote Sensing, received a $427,770 grant from the National Science Foundation to support the acquisition of a hyperspectral imaging system to support scientific research, applied studies, and education in Alaska. Hyperspectral imaging provides a means for detailed mapping of materials and the derivation of physical, chemical, and biological variables with unprecedented accuracy. Practical applications could include mapping the changing climate, oil spill mitigation, contaminated soil remediation and more.
Doug Dasher held a press briefing Nov. 6 to discuss radiation that has arrived in northern Alaska and the West Coast from Japan s damaged Fukushima nuclear plant. He discussed the projected radiation impacts on U.S. shores, how sampling is being done and what is needed to conduct a comprehensive monitoring program. Dasher, a team member of the Observing Radiation in Our North project, works in the gamma lab on the Fairbanks campus. He has worked as the project manager for the Radiation Monitoring Section of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and has been involved in the NOAA 2011 Northern Alaska Pinniped Unusual Mortality Event.
Gary Gray, director of athletics, has been elected as the new Great Northwest Athletic Conference representative to the NCAA Division II Management Council. Gray begins his four-year appointment in January.
Student Activities is hosting a bus trip to Anchorage for the Governor's Cup hockey series. Due to conference reorganization, the series (normally held one weekend in February) has been changed to a two-game series in December and March. The first two games will take place in Anchorage Dec. 6-8.
Laura Prugh, assistant professor of wildlife ecology, is the author of a study published last month in the Journal of Animal Ecology. Ecologists have long viewed the darkness of a moonless night as a protective blanket for nocturnal prey species, but researchers found that species ranged widely in their affinity for moonlight, from the moon-loving lemurs of Madagascar to the lunar-phobic kangaroo rats in the southwestern U.S. And, responses to moonlight were related to the sensory systems of species rather than their positions in the food chain.
Award-winning military journalist and UAF alumnus David Abrams joined the Midnight Sun Visiting Writers Series with a public reading on the Fairbanks campus in November. Abrams recent book, Fobbit , is a dark comedy based upon observations he recorded in his journal while deployed to Baghdad in 2005.
A UAF food pantry will open at the Wood Center Nov. 25 and will benefit students in need.
The Student Veterans of UAF hosted a Veterans Day memorial roll call Nov. 11 on the Fairbanks campus. Following the ceremony, volunteers from the campus and the community read the names of the more than 6,700 service members killed in action while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. UAF also hosted a resource fair and included the Wounded Warrior Project, Armed Services YMCA, Operation Military Kids and many more in an effort to spread awareness of available services.
A yearlong special exhibit, Arctic Odyssey: Voyages of the R/V Sikuliaq , featuring the work of the scientists who will benefit from the research vessel, will open at the UA Museum of the North in April 2014.
Alaska youths, ages 13 to 18, may apply for a summer 4-H exchange between Fairbanks and Japan. Participants are hosted by a Japanese youth of the same gender and similar age. Participants do not need to speak Japanese. The exchange between 4-H and Japan has been ongoing for more than 40 years.
The selection process for the 2014 Emil Usibelli Awards is underway. The awards have been presented annually to three faculty members since 1992. These three $10,000 awards go to individuals who display extraordinary excellence in teaching, research and public service.
The School of Management is accepting nominations for its 2014 Business Leader of the Year award, which recognizes an individual who has demonstrated leadership, business achievements, community involvement and educational support. The recipient will be honored at a ceremony April 18, 2014.
The UAF United Way effort is underway. The chairs hope to raise $72,500 for the United Way of the Tanana Valley and increase UAF donor participation.
Chancellor Rogers will host a town-hall style forum Tuesday, Nov. 26, from 1-2:30 p.m. in Wood Center.