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  • A group of people smiling and standing on a docked metal boat in the rain.

    Arctic LENS connects NASA science with community-based monitoring

    October 12, 2026

    New funding will expand a 30-year community-based monitoring and education outreach program across Alaska, helping bridge local observations with learning from NASA Earth science missions.

  • A black dog with some white markings sits in front of a birch tree with yellow leaves on the ground.

    Time capsule: Hardwood, softwood, fuelwood

    October 09, 2026

    After finally cleaning my stovepipe last weekend, it feels like woodstove season at my cabin can officially (and safely) begin. Carla Helfferich wrote this wood power-focused Alaska Science Forum column on Oct. 3, 1990.

  • Srijan Aggarwal, UAF professor of environmental engineering, works with laboratory equipment used in his research on critical mineral recovery. Aggarwal is part of a $6 million National Science Foundation collaboration investigating how biological processes and artificial intelligence can improve the recovery of rare earth elements from waste materials.

    UAF joins $6M NSF critical minerals effort

    October 05, 2026

    UAF researchers are joining a four-year, $6 million National Science Foundation effort to explore how microorganisms and artificial intelligence can improve the recovery of critical minerals from coal waste.

  • New interactive Alaska tsunami hazard map helps communities prepare

    October 02, 2026

    A new and interactive tsunami hazards tool created by the Alaska Earthquake Center brings evacuation information, hazard maps and other community-specific resources into a single online location.

  • A fox with a snowshoe hare in its mouth walks across a snowy landscape

    Time capsule: The secret life of a red fox family

    October 01, 2026

    At the start of every walk, my dogs try to sneak away to "fox town," a fox den on the other side of the pond near my cabin, and we often see the adult foxes trotting through the neighborhood. Hearing one of them bark the other evening, I was reminded of this March 26, 2020, story by Ned Rozell. He recently reported that foxes still use the den, but did not occupy it in summer 2026.

  • Doctoral student Morakinyo Labiran stands at ACUASI’s ice tower beside his planned test item, a small rotor assembly mounted on metal rails and surrounded by wiring. He wears a heavy blue winter coat and gloves inside the translucent plastic-lined, scaffold-supported enclosure.

    Drone research gets a lift from UAF ice tower

    September 30, 2026

    The ice tower of the Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration, ACUASI, at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute is where research into wintertime drone flight happens.

  • A black and white bird with a long and curved beak

    An update on fishhook chickadee beaks

    September 25, 2026

    Over 26 years ago, my friend Ned Rozell wrote about a startling new deformity seen in Alaska’s black-capped chickadees: “In 1991, a man living in King Salmon noticed three black-capped chickadees with beaks curved like fishhooks,” Rozell wrote. “Since then, hundreds of people from Southcentral Alaska have seen chickadees with overlong beaks that make it difficult for the birds to feed. The drastic increase in sightings has biologists worried that something is very wrong in Southcentral.”

  • New vegetation emerges across a recently burned Alaska landscape. Research led by Ben Gaglioti shows that previously burned areas can act as natural barriers to future wildfire spread by reducing available fuels. Photo by Ben Gaglioti.

    Research finds past burns can limit Alaska wildfire spread

    September 24, 2026

    UAF-led research found that previously burned areas can act as natural barriers to wildfire spread by reducing available fuels. The effect can persist for decades, although hot, dry and windy conditions make fires more likely to cross into younger burn scars.

  • Person wearing parka standing on jumbled sea ice looks towards sun low on horizon.

    Indigenous observations make Arctic Ocean models more accurate

    September 18, 2026

    Working with Indigenous observers on Alaska's northern coast, a research team has developed a way to improve the modeling of oceanic changes.

  • ACUASI’s yellow, white and blue Windracers ULTRA drone carrying chilled human blood samples takes off from Nenana Municipal Airport on Aug. 19, 2026. The twin-engine aircraft climbs with its landing gear still extended against a bright blue sky with thin clouds.

    UAF drone program tests long-distance blood sample delivery

    September 17, 2026

    Alaska's drone research program successfully completed a 1,000-kilometer test flight carrying human blood samples for the International Testing Agency, which investigates doping by athletes at the Olympics and other major sporting events.

  • Two people look at a map in an office

    Mapping tsunamis, building trust

    September 17, 2026

    While taking a quick shower before her son's fourth birthday party on Dec. 26, 2004, tsunami scientist Elena Troshina heard the phone ring. Deciding it was worth jumping out, she picked it up -- with kids, you never know.

  • Black-and-white historic photo of Kennecott Mines, with railcars piled high with copper ore awaiting shipment on the Copper River and Northwestern Railway. Mine buildings, conveyors and other structures rise on the hillside behind the train.

    Getting to the bottom of copper's rise to the top

    September 10, 2026

    Kennecott has been spruced up quite a bit since my last visit there nearly 30 years ago.

  • An illustration of an American cheetah

    Ancient 'cheetah' adapted to a fish-based diet to survive

    September 04, 2026

    When the now-extinct American cheetah was enduring the last ice age, a glaciated barrier broke up its territory into two distinct territories -- one in central North America and another much farther north. Analysis from the Alaska Stable Isotope Facility helped an international research team uncover how the ancient carnivore survived in those distinct regions. American cheetahs in the southern range hunted terrestrial prey like pronghorn antelope. Their counterparts in the Arctic adapted to their environment by making fish a staple of their diets.

  • Wild plants with pink and green leaves growing among tall grasses and shrubs.

    Time capsule: Color guard

    September 04, 2026

    The weekend trip closed with a drive home through the Alaska Range, and the steep scenery around Isabel Pass looked as glorious as it usually does -- except for one little flaw. Here and there, like pale flames along the creek banks, willows gleamed golden in the evening light. On the river's gravel bars and beside the road, dwarf fireweed leaves had turned a sunburned purple.

  • A group of children crowds against a wire fence to watch two reindeer in a green pasture as a staff member stands inside the enclosure, with autumn aspens visible in the background at the UAF Large Animal Research Station. One child holds a stuffed reindeer toy.

    LARS to host community event Sept. 12

    September 02, 2026

    The University of Alaska Fairbanks Large Animal Research Station will celebrate the end of summer tour season with a Locals Day event on Saturday, Sept. 12, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

  • A person working on solar panels, while another person is standing by the panels.

    ACEP receives $3 million to advance energy resilience

    September 01, 2026

    The Alaska Center for Energy and Power at the University of Alaska Fairbanks has received $3 million to study technology that can strengthen energy systems in remote and strategically important regions.

  • Green aurora curtains stretch across the night sky above snow-covered hills at Poker Flat Research Range north of Fairbanks in late January 2025. Facility lights glow in the valley below.

    Extreme solar storms can hit Earth harder than thought

    August 28, 2026

    Scientists have greatly underestimated the impact an extreme solar storm can have on Earth, according to new research.

  • Person lying beside alpine flowers and a specimen press on the tundra.

    Seeking the benefits of a parasite

    August 28, 2026

    This time of year, when berries fill my thoughts, the early summer blooms that begot them are hazy in my mind. As I pick, I try to remember that my belly and bucket are full thanks to these flowers and their pollinators. And to my surprise, as I learned this summer, perhaps a parasitic plant is also to thank.

  • A glowing Alaska Defense Forum sign sits on a table at the 2025 event at the 8 Star Event Center in Fairbanks. The circular sign features an outline of Alaska over a globe, with conference attendees visible in the background.

    Alaska Defense Forum 2026 focuses on community-military ties

    August 21, 2026

    Leaders in national defense, research and policy will gather with local partners next week in Fairbanks for the annual Alaska Defense Forum organized by the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

  • a person holds a bottle of ash in a lab

    Uncorking the secrets of a tiny bottle of volcanic ash

    August 21, 2026

    What is this ash from Mount Spurr volcano's 1992 eruption made of?

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