Published Jan 19, 2024 by Georgina Fernandez

University of Alaska Anchorage nursing students in a population health class will spend a portion of their semester learning about service dogs and their relationships to the local population.

The goal of the lesson, educators say, is to gain a better understanding of what Alaskans know about service animals, what still needs to be taught and how to provide needed education to the general public. Professor Angelia Trujillo and her nursing school colleague Jeff Matthews have both observed a concerning pattern among some Alaskans: Upon encountering a service animal, some people don’t know the appropriate way to respond.

“There’s a lot of work that needs to be done,” Trujillo said. “There are definitely people, you know, who just don’t understand.”

Both Matthews and Trujillo want to educate the public on the proper way to act around service animals.

Published Jan 19, 2024 by Aaron Dotson

Together with our community, the University of Alaska Anchorage makes Alaskans and residents of the Arctic safe, healthy and prosperous. 

UAA grows local businesses, organizes health dialogues, supports the national security and defense enterprise and makes fundamental science into usable tools and policies that meet community needs. We achieve this through performing applicable research and engaging in public service relevant to Anchorage, Alaska and the Arctic. From engineering and infrastructure to national security, health and understanding our dynamic environment, UAA is part of the solution. UAA partners with energy companies to help combat issues such as corrosion while developing techniques to safely mine rare earth metals. In addition, industry partnerships with global market leaders such as LG Electronics help bring emerging technologies to our region. 

UAA takes pride in its commitment to community-engaged research and public service that enriches the experience of our students, neighbors and environment. Our work has been recognized by the Community Engagement Carnegie Classification as one of only 352 institutions nationally and the only institution in Alaska. We are proud to be part of the positive change that this work brings, and hope that you will join us in elevating the impact of this work for the benefit of Alaska and the Arctic.

Published Jan 19, 2024

The Alaska College of Education Consortium (which encompasses the University of Alaska Anchorage, University of Alaska Fairbanks, and University of Alaska Southeast) recently announced the second year of its Teacher Internship Scholarship Program.

According to a press release from University of Alaska, this annual scholarship program is designed to enhance educational opportunities across the state and relieve the financial challenges students face while engaged in their crucial full-time internships along their path to becoming educators. This is initiative is supported by the collaborative efforts of the Alaska State Legislature, Governor Mike Dunleavy, UA President Pat Pitney, and ACEC Liaison Bridget Weiss.

"The collaborative support from across our state is vital in shaping the future of education in Alaska. Working alongside our ACEC liaison, Bridget Weiss, we are making strides in educational excellence," UAS Interim Dean Carlee Simon stated in the press release.

Teachers trained through a high-quality, year-long internship-based program are three times more likely to remain teaching in the classroom after three years compared to those in fast-track or emergency licensure programs, according to the press release.

Published Jan 18, 2024 by Scienmag

Emissions from thawing permafrost, frozen ground in the North that contains twice as much carbon as the atmosphere does and is thawing due to human-caused climate warming, are one of the largest uncertainties in future climate projections. But accurate representation of permafrost dynamics is missing from the major models that project future carbon emissions. 

Only two of the eleven Earth System Models (ESMs) used in the last Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report include permafrost carbon cycling at all, and those that do currently use over-simplified approximations that don’t capture the fully dynamic ways that permafrost carbon can be released into the atmosphere as the climate warms. Processes that researchers have observed in the field, such as the way abrupt permafrost thaw can create ponds and lakes and change surface hydrology, run counter to these approximations but have large implications for permafrost carbon and its potential impact on the global climate. 

“Our understanding of how permafrost is thawing and emitting carbon has drastically improved over the last 15 years,” said Brendan Rogers, associate scientist at Woodwell Climate Research Center and co-lead of the Permafrost Pathways project. “Funding Earth System Models to represent permafrost thaw would ensure those gains are realized in the models, and that critical climate targets and carbon budgets are being based on the best science we have.”

Published Jan 18, 2024 by Yereth Rosen

The bill would reauthorize the earthquake hazard reduction program and update its responsibilities, including work with tribes

A 2021 study of damages in and near Anchorage caused by the magnitude 7.1 quake of 2018 recommended several policy changes to improve building safety. The study found that in general, buildings constructed after 1990 fared better than older structures because safety codes were more strictly enforced starting then. Damages in outlying communities, particularly the suburban areas of Eagle River and Chugiak, were greater, and the study noted that code compliance and inspections are not required there, even for larger commercial buildings. In all, the 2018 earthquake “was not a sufficient test to assess the actual seismic vulnerability of Southcentral Alaska’s built environment,” and numerous hazards remain, said the study, led by Wael Hassan of the University of Alaska Anchorage.

In a statement, Murkowski referred to the 1964 and 2018 events, both of which struck Southcentral Alaska, the state’s most populous region.

“Alaska is no stranger to massive earthquakes that can cause serious damage to our communities. From the 1964 Good Friday earthquake, the 7.1 earthquake in 2018, to the thousands of smaller quakes that rattle our state each year—it’s critical we invest in programs that keep us prepared and ready to respond to disaster. That’s why I’m proud to join Senator Padilla of California on the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program Reauthorization Act, which will modernize earthquake safety programs in western states, reinforcing our readiness for future seismic activity,” Murkowski said in the statement.