Published Mar 1, 2024 by Alaska Native News

The Yukon River village of Galena and the University of Alaska Fairbanks will investigate whether in-river turbines can provide electricity to the community.

The UAF Alaska Center for Energy and Power and the nonprofit Sustainable Energy for Galena Alaska will explore the idea. Their project has received a $9.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.

The project will focus on hydrokinetic technologies, which use energy generated from the natural movement of water. 

Galena, off the road system and 270 miles west of Fairbanks, is served by a local microgrid that uses diesel-powered generators. Reliable hydrokinetic turbines could allow the diesel generators to be turned off during ice-free months. 

River energy is potentially more stable than wind and solar because the river runs constantly all summer. It also would require a much smaller energy storage system than solar and wind would.

With no need to build an expensive dam, energy generated by hydrokinetic turbines is potentially less costly for the community. The river, when running, could provide 10 to 100 times more energy than the community needs.

“What is special about this project is that we will work with the community throughout the process,” said ACEP’s Ben Loeffler, who is the principal investigator of the project.

The community’s input will help answer questions such as where the turbines should be placed, whether maintenance could be easily managed locally and which technologies would be best.

Published Mar 1, 2024 by Carter Dejong

Since University of Alaska graduate student workers voted overwhelmingly in favor of forming a union in October, the Alaskan Graduate Workers Association (AGWA) said they face a slow moving negotiation process.

“Graduate students are just really struggling a lot right now,” said Taylor Kane, a biology PhD student at UAF. “I think a lot of what we’re asking for is really reasonable.”

Contract negotiations between AGWA and UA have been ongoing since January. Since then, the union has sent 32 proposals — each of which detail a specific request such as increased pay or healthcare benefits. So far, UA has only responded to two of the proposals.

The two organizations were scheduled for an in-person bargaining meeting earlier this week, but UA canceled the meeting, citing a violation of the previously agreed upon ground rules of the negotiations.

“Last week, it became pretty clear that AGWA has a different understanding of the ground rules than the administration does and that disconnect became pretty apparent at that point,” Taylor said. “We decided to pivot on in-person negotiations and instead use that time for our chief negotiators to work through the different understandings of the ground rules and be able to move forward.”

Taylor added that although the next in person negotiation session is not scheduled until March 18, discussions are still going on behind the scenes.

Published Mar 1, 2024 by Megan Gannon

Sea ice loss, warming waters and the northward expansion of fish species like pollock are all contributing to a pattern in the Bering Strait region known as “borealization.”

That means the Arctic ecosystem is becoming more like the boreal region to the south.

Those changes have raised the possibility of new commercial fisheries opening in the northern Bering Sea and even further north in the Chukchi Sea.

Franz Mueter, a scientist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences in Juneau, gave a Strait Science lecture last week to discuss research that might influence management decisions under these changing conditions.

There has been a longstanding moratorium on commercial fishing in U.S. federal waters north of the Bering Strait. State waters in the Arctic, however, host some small commercial fishing harvests.

But large commercial fisheries are already sitting right at the “doorsteps” to the Arctic—in particular, around the Arctic’s main inflow shelves of the Barents Sea and the Bering Sea, Mueter said. And these fisheries are “poised to move north if fish move north—when fish move north,” he said.

Indeed, as Arctic waters warm, some commercially important stocks are already on the move.

Published Mar 1, 2024 by Alex Johnson

This past weekend, the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) had a series against Arizona State University (ASU) that won’t be leaving anyone’s memories for a lifetime.

Game one for the Nanooks against the Sun Devils is a game that could potentially go down in college hockey history, not for the goals, but for the extracurriculars at the end of the game.

A scrum would turn into four players from each side sent to the sin bin with 16 seconds left in the game. Penalties would be 10 for 31 minutes for ASU and 9 for 26 minutes for UAF once the fracas settled.After that, the fireworks would hit their peak for the game. With 11 seconds to go, it would become one of the biggest donnybrooks (fights) in college hockey history.

The scrum would leave Arizona State with a total of 21 penalties for 116 minutes, and Alaska with a total of 23 penalties for 131 minutes.

There would be eight disqualifications, six fighting majors, four game misconducts, three persisting in misconduct, two leaving the bench, and finally one penalty each for face masking and a misconduct called during the scrum.

The combined penalty totals for both teams amounted to 44 penalties for 247 minutes, with three players from both teams suspended.

Alaska Head Coach Erik Largen made this statement about Friday’s actions, “We as a staff, department and university do not condone the actions that occurred on Friday night. Dawson, unfortunately, will be out for the rest of the season because of this. The incident is not a representation of Fairbanks, UAF or the Alaska Nanooks hockey program.”

Published Feb 29, 2024 by Your Alaska Link

The Alaska Department of Education partnered with the University of Alaska and other organizations for their first teacher retention and recruitment conference.

It happened on Thursday and continued through Friday at the Captain Cook Hotel in downtown Anchorage.

School district representatives sat and listened to presentations on how to strategically recruit workers.

"So our goal with this conference is really to engage our experts in the field across a variety of strategies and really increase the knowledge base and the working skills of our school district staff in their own efforts for recruiting teachers," said Monica Goyette with the Alaska Department of Education.

Published Feb 29, 2024

UAS School of Education ranked among best online programs

The University of Alaska Southeast online graduate education programs ranked in the top 10% of all online programs by US News & World Report College Rankings. This year, UAS ranked 127 out of 1,800 online programs, continuing its upward trajectory in the rankings over the past three years. In 2022, the programs were ranked at 233 and have continued a steady climb, arriving this year in the top 10% of online programs nationally.

“Alaska needs dedicated, qualified teachers and UAS is proving to be the university of choice,” said UAS Chancellor Dr. Aparna Palmer. “It is wonderful to see the hard work of our accomplished faculty and staff being recognised for their expertise and for the quality of work that goes into our education programs.”

UAS offers online programs that meet the needs of those called into teaching and those who are already in the profession. UAS has a long tradition of preparing excellent educators, principals and administrators who demonstrate a commitment to enhancing the lives of students. The School of Education offers the flexibility of online programs allowing students to stay in their communities while receiving high-level training and preparation to become the next generation of Alaskan teachers.

“This recognition is a testament to our commitment to educational excellence and innovation,” said Interim Dean of Education Carlee Simon. “Our online programs are designed to empower educators with the skills and knowledge needed to make a lasting impact in classrooms across Alaska and beyond. We are proud to contribute to the growth and success of our educators who are shaping the future of education in our state.”