Fairbanksans named to Alaska Innovators Hall of Fame
December 15, 2014
Twenty-two Alaskans have been inducted into the new Alaska Innovators Hall of Fame
by the Statewide Committee for Research.
Fairbanks honorees Jack Hebert and Bernie Karl, along with Alex Hills of Palmer, attended
an induction ceremony held at a Fairbanks Economic Development Council luncheon on
Dec. 8. Other Fairbanks-based inductees include Clarence Berry (posthumously), Cathy
Cahill, Keith Echelmeyer, Gwen Holdmann, Hank Statscewich, Greg Walker and Tom Weingartner.
Speakers at the luncheon included UA President Pat Gamble, UAF Chancellor Brian Rogers
and former Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell.
The 22 innovators honored this year were profiled in a book, "Northern Innovators: Alaskans
Find a Way," by Ned Rozell, a science writer at the UAF Geophysical Institute. The
book is a companion to a report completed in February by the research committee co-chairmen,
Treadwell and Dana Thomas, UA vice president for academic affairs and research.
Hills, professor emeritus at Carnegie Mellon University, will chair the subcommittee
charged with identifying future innovators for the Alaska Innovators Hall of Fame.
Nominations for the next class will be announced in early 2015.
The University of Alaska established the Statewide Committee for Research in 2004
to promote research and development in the state. For more information, go online
to http://www.alaska.edu/research/research/scor/.