September 6, 2013
Sea ice decline and warming trends are changing the vegetation in nearby arctic coastal areas, according to scientists Uma Bhatt, an associate professor with Geophysical Institute, and Skip Walker, a professor at the Institute of Arctic Biology. The two contributed to a recent review of research on the response of plants, marine life and animals to declining sea ice in the Arctic.
Nome, Alaska, could soon be known as the first community in the American Arctic to get its power from geothermal energy, thanks to a partnership among UAF, the city of Fairbanks, the City of Nome, and local native corporations and nonprofits. After several years of research, a project team this week is drilling a large-diameter exploration hole to verify the size and extent of the geothermal resource at Pilgrim Hot Springs, which is 60 road miles from Nome. Once completed, a flow test would confirm the hot springs contain sufficient quantity of hot water to support construction of an on-site power production.
Real-time information about ship movements near Nome is now available to the public. The Northwest Campus, the Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program and the University of the Aegean in Greece recently collaborated to install an automatic identification system. The station collects data on large marine vessels within 12 miles of the Nome harbor and uploads the information to an online map.
The Student Health and Counseling Center will begin an outreach program this fall to identify and assist students at risk for mental health problems. The effort begins with an anonymous survey. The answers are compiled and students who are at high risk for problems such as depression, anxiety and suicide are contacted (using an encrypted address) and invited to engage in counseling, either online or in person. The program has been effective on other college campuses in reaching out to students, especially those who are physically or emotionally isolated, who are struggling with mental health issues.
New student orientation took place Sept. 1 - 4. In addition to the regular schedule of academic and social activities, students and alumni were involved in a large video-wrapping production that will be shown at the chancellor’s State of the University address to the campus Sept. 19.
The Rasmuson Library will host “Frozen Dreams and Delusions: 400 Years of Arctic Cartography,” the 31st International Map Collectors’ Society symposium Sept. 9 - 10.
The UA Press released a new book, Dena’inaq’ Huch’ulyeshi: The Dena’ina Way of Living, edited by Suzi Jones, Aaron Leggett and James A. Fall. The range of the Dena’ina people stretches from the Cook Inlet region to central Alaska and has been established for 1,000 years, yet their culture has largely been overlooked, leaving large gaps in the literature.
Allan Morotti, School of Education dean, received the 2013 Outstanding Contribution Award from the Oxford Symposium in school-based family counseling for his work in social justice.
Dean of Libraries Bella Gerlich was honored by her alma mater, the University of Pittsburgh, with the School of Information Sciences Professional Achievement Award. The award is given to alumni who have demonstrated achievements in the fields of information science, community, public or humanitarian service.
Fairbanks high school students can earn UAF credit while completing an after school class through the Interior-Aleutians Campus provides information for them to earn their interagency fire qualification card, also known as the Red Card. Students must be 16 to enroll and 18 to fight fires.
More than two dozen Nanooks and all nine sports were represented for the 2012 - 13 Division II Athletics Directors Association Academic Achievement Awards. Athletes had to achieve a 3.50 cumulative GPA, have completed two academic years of college and been an active student-athlete in the last year.
The Wood Center dining addition construction is progressing on schedule. The south Wood Center entry will be complete in time for students’ to return to campus. The fire lane will be reopened and the temporary lane through the core of campus will be closed. The steel erection was completed Sept. 1, and crews will be closing in the building for interior winter construction.
All exterior wall work is complete on the Fine Arts Building vapor barrier. Work continues in the McGown Choral Room and music wing restrooms. Carpet cleaning and moving are underway. The Gold Decal parking lot at the north end of the building will reopen Sept. 3.
Mary Matthews, the Disability Services director, was selected to participate in The Windows Project, a public art project sponsored by the Downtown Association. Matthews’ piece “Power Dressing for Women on the Edge of World Leadership” will be printed onto a vinyl wrap approximately 7 feet x 4 feet and attached to a window along 5th Avenue. Her submission was a studio-shot photograph of a dress she made out of maps.
At the end of year one, Alaska EPSCoR has its instrumentation cluster in place. Currently the group is preparing for a reverse site visit at NSF headquarters in Arlington, Va., Sept. 23. The education, outreach, and diversity component is exploring a partnership with the MAPTeach program to use its curriculum product to share data gathered by the three test cases (Northern, Southeast and Southcentral) and provide educational activities to demonstrate the relevance of STEM.
The UAF Job and Research Fair will take place from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Sept. 11 - 12 in the Wood Center multilevel lounge. This year’s fair will feature poster presentations by UAF graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. These junior researchers are invited to showcase their projects with either a newly created poster or one presented at a meeting in the past year.