October 28, 2016
The Mining and Petroleum Training Service, a workforce development program that has trained more than 100,000 Alaskans, is now part of UAF. The transfer from the University of Alaska Workforce Programs to the Cooperative Extension Service was completed in August. Bill Bieber, the MAPTS executive director, said the program has an 85 percent job placement rate for its underground and surface mining trainees.
SciVal, a research rating tool provided by Elsevier publishing, rated UAF the “top institution for research in the Arctic,” based on the number of Arctic-focused publications over a five-year period – 663 – and citations in the field, which number 7,347.
In October, staff and volunteers from the University of Alaska Museum of the North led an effort to salvage a complete humpback whale skeleton from Kincaid Beach in Anchorage. The specimens will be added to the museum's extensive marine mammal collection, the largest in North America.
Vera Alexander gave more than $16,000 to the College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences’ Research Vessel Sikuliaq Outreach Fund, the CFOS Graduate Student Support Fund and the Al Tyler Memorial Scholarship.
Caitlin Tozier was elected as student board member for the National Indian Education Association. Tozier is from Nome and majoring in education.
Paleontologists from the University of Alaska Museum of the North found the first dinosaur bones in Denali National Park during an expedition in July. They also discovered several new dinosaur trackways, which are fossilized impressions left by ancient animals walking through mud that eventually became rock. Pat Druckenmiller, UAMN curator of Earth sciences, is leading a project with Denali National Park over the next several years to explore additional areas of the park.
Recent unmanned aircraft flights along a portion of the trans-Alaska pipeline demonstrated the ability to conduct infrastructure monitoring beyond the visual line of sight of the pilot in command of the aircraft. The mission, conducted by personnel with the Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration and partners from Scenarios Network for Alaska & Arctic Planning at UAF, was a key step toward the safe integration of unmanned aircraft into Alaska’s airspace.
The School of Management awarded more than $28,000 in cash prizes in October, after the final round of presentations in the 2016 Arctic Innovation Competition. Vincent Castro and Eric Solie won $10,000 for their cloud-based software, which uses a video feed from a cellphone or video camera to calculate the number of faces and those that are paying attention in the direction of the camera. The competition, now in its eighth year, invites innovators to propose new, feasible and potentially profitable ideas for solving real-life problems. The Usibelli Coal Mine also donated $75,000 to support the competition for the next three years.
Researchers David McGuire and Vladimir Romanovsky, among others, created a new comprehensive map that identifies the regions of the globe most vulnerable to permafrost decay and carbon release. The journal Nature Communications published an article on their work.
Fairbanks residents explored health careers and education options at the fifth annual Alaska Interior Medical Education Summit at UAF Oct. 22.
The Philosophy and Humanities Department at UAF hosted the third annual Joseph C. Thompson Memorial Lecture in October. David Gardiner, an associate professor at Colorado College, presented the lecture titled, “To Love or Not to Love: Creative Tension Between Wisdom and Compassion in Buddhist Ethics.” The lecture was free and open to the public.
An anonymous pledge of $25,000 was given in support of the UA Museum of the North Gallery of Alaska, while TOTE Maritime gave $20,000 to the museum’s Family Day program and Wells Fargo gave $25,000 to the UAMN’s Military Appreciation Program.
Professor of Geosciences Michael Whalen helped drill into the Chicxulub impact crater in Mexico’s Yucatán region as part of the International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 364 in October. An asteroid created the crater 66 million years ago. The impact’s worldwide effects are thought to have caused the dinosaurs’ extinction.
The UAF Cooperative Extension Service will host the Alaska Invasive Species Workshop, Oct. 25-27 in Fairbanks. The workshop will focus on invasive species management and the effects of a warming environment.
Janet Porter, a graduate of the UAF School of Education, gave $28,000 to the Chancellor’s College Completion Scholarship. This was her first gift to UAF.
The Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration helped the Near Space Corporation in Oregon launch an unmanned aircraft from a balloon at 70,000 feet in early October. ACUASI coordinated the airspace, provided the pilot in command and assisted with flight planning and safety reviews for the mission.
Writers of all ages and experience levels will partner with faculty and students from the English Department at the Community of Writing event Oct. 29. The free event takes place in the Noel Wien Library and will include writing activities and interactive sessions.
Vladimir Alexeev, a research professor with the International Arctic Research Center, was featured on Environmental Research Web for his team’s recent study regarding the loss of Arctic sea ice cover and its contributions to thinning lake ice around northern Alaska.
UAF will host a free open house for high schoolers on Friday, Oct. 28. The Inside Out program is UAF’s most comprehensive preview day, giving students and parents an opportunity to ask questions, get answers and experience campus life.
Yatibaey Evans was elected president of the National Indian Education Association. She is the director of the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District’s Alaska Native Education Program, which is a community partner with the College of Rural and Community Development.
The Rasmuson Foundation gave $15,000 to the Art Department Support Fund, which helps pay for the artist residency program.
The Hulbert Nanook Terrain Park is now located at Ski Land, north of Fairbanks. The Department of Recreation, Adventure and Wellness has expanded offerings to include beginner and advanced terrain options for riders and skiers, along with a full inventory of rentals available through Ski Land. Students taking nine credits and paying the Student Recreation Center fee are able to get a season pass to Ski Land at no additional cost.