| | In today's news: UAF graduate student Jorda Kovash was awarded a NSF Graduate Research Fellowship - she studies how aspen trees respond to a disease called aspen running canker; UAF will host its 15th annual Really Free Market on Saturday; Alaska's seismic monitoring network provides important data from across the state, but the system faces challenges from weather, bears and uncertain funding; UAA has named Dr. Matt Calhoun the full-time executive director of the Alaska Native Science & Engineering Program; graduates of the Kachemak Bay Campus in Homer celebrated commencement on Wednesday; Alaska's utility managers went to Iceland with Gwen Holdmann to learn more about how that country manages a unified grid as Alaska considers changes to utility management; and a report on Alaska's changing fire seasons is cited in an op-ed encouraging fire awareness.
Also: media outlets across the nation are reporting on high auroral activity this weekend.
Email mmusick@alaska.edu to suggest people to add to this daily news summary. |
| | | UAF biology student awarded NSF Graduate Research Fellowship | Published May 10, 2024 by Alaska Native News University of Alaska Fairbanks graduate student Jorda Kovash was recently awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. She is one of two graduate students in the state of Alaska who received the prestigious award in the 2024 cycle.
In addition to professional development opportunities, the fellowship provides three years of financial support, including an annual stipend of $37,000 and $16,000 to cover the cost of tuition.
Kovash studies in the Department of Biology and Wildlife under the auspices of the Institute of Arctic Biology. Since 2015, she has been researching how the immune systems of trembling aspens respond to a fungal disease called aspen running canker. She sequences the RNA of infected trees — a novel approach because RNA sequencing is traditionally used to study human cell biology, not flora.
“This is an emerging pathogen in the sub-Arctic,” said Kovash. “RNA sequencing has very rarely, if ever, been used as a tool to look at forest health.”
Trembling aspens are one of four deciduous tree species in the boreal forest. They are an important food source for moose. They also serve as natural firebreaks during fire season, making Kovash’s research timely in the face of climate change. According to the USDA Climate Hubs website, changes in the Interior’s climate are forecast to increase fire frequency and intensity.
| | | Readership | 9,539 | Social Amplification | 0 |
| | |
---|
| View full article analysis |
| | UAF to host 15th annual Really Free Market Saturday, May 18 | Published May 10, 2024 by Alaska Native News The University of Alaska Fairbanks will host the Really Free Market recycling event on Saturday, May 18, at 10 a.m. in the parking lot next to the Lola Tilly Commons.
It’s the 15th year for this popular free recycling event, which helps find new homes for items donated by the Fairbanks community.
Donated items must be clean, safe and usable. Clothing, sporting goods, furniture, appliances, tools, gardening equipment, kitchen and bath items, tires, toys and even toilets are some of the items that have been donated in the past.
The market has a drive-up lane for dropping off donations, and volunteers will be there to help unload donations from 8 to 10 a.m.
The market will only be open to shoppers from 10 to 11 a.m. All items are free for the taking. No selling, bartering or swapping is allowed. Following the event, unclaimed items will go to Green Star of Interior Alaska, the Closet Connection and the Literacy Council of Alaska. | | | Readership | 9,539 | Social Amplification | 0 |
| | |
---|
| View full article analysis |
| | Alaska has a 'first-rate' earthquake monitoring system. The hard part is defending it against weather, bears and funding uncertainty | Published May 10, 2024 by Michelle Theriault Boots In recent years, Alaska’s network has expanded dramatically, thanks to the acquisition of about 100 monitoring stations brought to Alaska as part of a National Science Foundation project. The stations were supposed to be temporary, but the Alaska Earthquake Center, with last-minute funding, bought out the sites. They are now among about 250 operated directly by the center.
“This was an opportunity to achieve, finally, an actual statewide network like other places in the country have,” state seismologist Michael West said.
That’s important because Alaska is both the site of quakes that are potentially devastating to humans and scientifically of interest to researchers trying to understand the processes behind them.
Alaska now has an extensive monitoring system in a place where a lot of seismic activity actually happens, said West.
It costs roughly $5 million per year to keep the network operating, West said. The Alaska Earthquake Center has an overall budget of roughly $7 million. In the past, the state budget has contributed to the earthquake center’s monitoring operations, West said. But in recent years, the money has come largely from federal appropriations.
“It is fair to say our funding is extremely tenuous,” West said. “It’s always ups and downs. We look out for ourselves.”
Much of that federal funding has come through U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who supported the 2019 acquisition of more earthquake sensors for Alaska. And earlier this year, Murkowski co-sponsored a bill that would send $175.4 million to the federal agencies responsible for long-term earthquake risk reduction, though it’s not clear how much of that money will end up with the Alaska Earthquake Center.
| | | Readership | 664,819 | Social Amplification | 0 |
| | |
---|
| View full article analysis |
| | UAA names Dr. Matt Calhoun as new executive director for Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program | Published May 10, 2024 The University of Alaska Anchorage announced on Thursday that Matt Calhoun, Ph.D. (Athabaskan) has been selected as the new full-time executive director of the Alaska Native Science & Engineering Program (ANSEP).
A graduate of ANSEP, former program assistant director, and associate professor of civil engineering at UAA, Calhoun has led ANSEP as interim executive director since spring 2023.
"Stepping into this role at ANSEP is a tremendous honor for me. I know first hand just how pivotal this program can be, so I feel a great sense of pride and responsibility as I continue the legacy of ANSEP, guiding and inspiring the next generation of students,” Calhoun said.
Fully committed to his passion for education and educational equity, Calhoun decided to obtain a master’s degree in civil engineering, which he earned from the University of Colorado at Boulder, then followed by a Ph.D. in civil engineering from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Notably, Calhoun was one of the first students to earn a doctorate through ANSEP and the first Alaska Native in the world to earn a Ph.D. in civil engineering. In 2015, Calhoun was appointed as assistant director of ANSEP and assistant professor of civil engineering at UAA, making him one of the university’s first Alaska Native tenure-track engineering faculty members.
| | | Readership | 427,922,376 | Social Amplification | 0 |
| | |
---|
| View full article analysis |
| | Kachemak Bay Campus confers degrees to Class of 2024 | Published May 10, 2024 by Emilie Springer The Kachemak Bay Campus of the University of Alaska held commencement on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Pioneer Hall in Homer.
Brian Partridge, faculty chair, began the evening by recognizing the graduates. He was joined on the graduation stage by two University of Alaska regents, Joe Crum and Steve Colligan, and keynote speaker, Dr. Rachel Kincaid, chief nursing officer at the South Peninsula Hospital.
Several levels of diplomacy were awarded, including eight high school equivalency diplomas, four Associate of Arts and two Bachelor of Arts in elementary education. Jessica Joe Moore received an Associate of Applied Science in surgical technology. Homer News reporter Delcenia Cosman received a Master of Arts in creative writing and literature from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Kimberly Ann Frost completed doctorate degree in interdisciplinary studies.
The evening concluded with student awards, a recessional and reception in the KPC upstairs student lounge where photos were taken and congratulations provided to the 2024 student class.
| | | Readership | 12,798 | Social Amplification | 17 |
| | |
---|
| View full article analysis |
| | Pitch to unite Railbelt utilities under power transmission group sees sharp divides | Published May 9, 2024 by Sean Maguire In October, the managers of the Railbelt’s four largest utilities and 12 legislators traveled to Iceland. The tiny European nation was seen as a potential model for the Railbelt. Iceland had publicly owned utilities operating on a state-owned transmission line before European Union regulations forced them to deregulate the market in the early 2000s.
Gwen Holdmann, the founding director of the Alaska Center for Energy and Power, organized the trip to Iceland, which is seen as a world leader in integrating renewable energy into a unified electric grid.
”I think it was really successful in terms of showing the potential for this system,” Holdmann said.
Despite their long-held disagreements and a history of failed attempts, the four Railbelt utility managers signed a tentative agreement on a napkin in Iceland to form an integrated transmission organization. Since then, there have again been disagreements.
Using Iceland as a model, the Senate bill developed a more ambitious plan for the grid than originally planned by Dunleavy. SB 217 would transfer responsibility for transmission planning and management of the utilities’ assets to the new transmission organization.
| | | Readership | 664,819 | Social Amplification | 0 |
| | |
---|
| View full article analysis |
| Alaska Journal of Commerce | |
| OPINION: Alaska’s fire season is getting worse - but you can help | Published May 9, 2024 by Tyler Anderson, Kyle Cowan and Norm McDonald Alaskans saw what happened in Canada last year, and they know it can happen here too. They recognize we need to prevent and prepare for wildfires across the state — from the time the snow melts until it falls again. During Alaska Wildland Fire Prevention and Preparedness Week (May 4-10), we ask people in Alaska to reflect on key ways to help protect each other and our communities from wildfire.
More information about how Alaska’s fire seasons are changing is available in a report called Alaska’s Changing Wildfire Environment from the University of Alaska Fairbanks International Arctic Research Center and the Alaska Fire Science Consortium.
| | | Readership | 664,819 | Social Amplification | 0 |
| | |
---|
| View full article analysis |
|
|
| You are receiving this newsletter because someone in your organization wants to share company and industry news with you. If you don't find this newsletter relevant, you can unsubscribe from our newsletters |
|