Published Feb 20, 2023 by Courtesy UAMN Archaeology Department

In 1940 part of the Moose Creek Bluff was to be blasted with dynamite as part of a flood control project. Right before it was to be blasted, it was noticed there were some ancient paintings on the face of the bluff and the University of Alaska Fairbanks was notified so an expert could come out and examine them. The following story is about what they found.

Published Feb 20, 2023 by Condé Nast

Terry Chapin, an ecosystem ecologist and professor emeritus of the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, has a heat pump but notes that his model—designed to work down to –13 degrees Fahrenheit (–25 Celsius)—struggles in the winter months. “It doubled our electricity use when I was using it at very low temperatures,” he says. When the temperature drops below 0 degrees Fahrenheit, he switches back to his oil heating system instead.

Vanessa Stevens, a building science researcher at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Fairbanks, says that the latest heat pumps are increasingly cold-hardy.

“We’re actually testing a heat pump in our lab this spring where the cutoff temperature is –31 degrees Fahrenheit,” she says. “That was unheard of 10 years ago.”

Demand in Alaska appears to be rising strongly because heat pumps are becoming more efficient and cost effective, she suggests, adding that there are now companies solely dedicated to heat pump installations—a relatively new development.

Published Feb 19, 2023

University of Alaska Fairbanks graduate student Kimberly Kivvaq Pikok has been honored for her conservation efforts by the Explorers Club.

The international organization, which is dedicated to the advancement of field exploration and scientific inquiry, honored Pikok as one of its “50 People Changing the World That the World Needs to Know About.”

Pikok is researching seasonal changes in Utqiaġvik’s spring whaling season through local observations from hunters and whalers.

She conducts interviews, uses community-based research methods, and gathers knowledge from the Alaska Arctic Observatory and Knowledge Hub database.

Pikok graduated from UAF in 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in wildlife biology. She is continuing her studies as an interdisciplinary studies graduate student in the Tamamta Fellowship program, which combines Indigenous and Western knowledge in fisheries and marine science research.

Published Feb 19, 2023 by News-Miner photo

I worked with a team of researchers at the University of Alaska Fairbanks to find out how residents of Fairbanks and North Pole think about air pollution and wood burning. We mailed our survey to 3,000 people across the Fairbanks North Star Borough. Below are six key findings that we learned from 442 completed surveys.

Key finding No. 1: Our community has concerns about economic impacts of winter air pollution. 

Key finding No. 2: Our community has some concerns about potential health risks of winter air pollution from wood smoke.

Key finding No. 3: Our community has greater support for education programs and financial incentives to address wood smoke pollution than it does for regulations.

Key finding No. 4: Concerns and preferences for addressing winter air quality vary across the borough non-attainment area. 

Key finding No. 5: Concerns about the potential economic impacts of not addressing wood smoke and air pollution are related to how much people support policies to address winter air pollution. 



Published Feb 19, 2023 by Ned Rozell

Stories about ravens and chickadees and wolves result in more responses in my inbox than others. The past few weeks — after one story about winter butterflies and another about raven talk — have been predictable in that way, but unpredictable in another.

Two writers have sent me poems about those creatures. I read the poems without distraction. They made me think about how both poets and scientists are deep observers who interpret the world in different ways.

“Genus Nymphalis,” by Eric Heyne, UAF English professor

Published Feb 19, 2023 by Caitlin Miller/News-Miner

The University of Alaska has released $49 million in Alaska State Small Business Credit Initiative Lending Programs.

According to a news release, “The Alaska SSBCI Lending Programs will provide incentives to participating lenders that will allow them to make loans to Alaska based small businesses who would normally not qualify.”

The Alaska SSBCI provides lending opportunities under the loan guarantee program, the loan participation program, and the collateral loan program.

The goal of the lending programs is to encourage new and existing private sector businesses that are a foundational part of Alaska’s economic future.

Published Feb 19, 2023

"Zooplankton are near the base of the marine food web. If the base changes, we will see changes higher in the foodweb. There will be species that respond better than others," said study lead Dave Kimmel, NOAA Fisheries, Alaska Fisheries Science Center EcoFOCI program. "By studying zooplankton we can see what the future ecosystem might look like. That knowledge can help people who make a living on it, or manage it, adapt and prepare."

Over recent decades, many climate-driven ecosystem changes have been documented in the southeastern Bering Sea. But less is known—or expected—for the north.

"Historically it was thought that reliable ice cover and the cold pool would insulate the northern Bering Sea from climate change for the next 50 years," Kimmel said. "But now we've seen years when sea ice and the cold pool virtually disappeared due to an extreme event. This ecosystem is changing much more rapidly than expected."

To understand how climate drove these changes, and predict how the ecosystem may respond to continued warming, scientists needed to know what happened to zooplankton.

"We took advantage of zooplankton data from a 17-year survey time series that our collaborators at Auke Bay Laboratories had collected as part of a salmon fisheries oceanography survey with Alaska Department of Fish and Game," Kimmel said. "Working collaboratively with them and our partners at University of Alaska, we were able to extract a wealth of information from data that had already been collected."

Long-term studies such as those conducted by NOAA's EcoFOCI program are our best available tool for predicting climate-driven ecosystem change. By looking at how the ecosystem responded to past climate variability, we can better predict how it will respond to future climate change.

Published Feb 19, 2023 by Eric Engman

The University of Alaska Fairbanks rifle team effectively sealed its berth at this season’s NCAA Championships with a 4,731-4,557 win over the hosting University of Texas El Paso Miners on Saturday. 

The victory — combined with the team’s top three scores through the season and its top three individual performers in both the smallbore and air rifle disciplines — will help secure a spot for the No. 2 ranked Nanooks at the national championships in Akron, Ohio on March 10-11.

Published Feb 19, 2023 by Bob Eley

Trailing 3-0 nearly halfway through the second period, things looked grim for the University of Alaska Fairbanks hockey team Saturday night at the Carlson Center.

But a power-play goal by Jonny  Sorenson sparked a four-goal rally in the span of seven minutes and the Nanooks kept their postseason hopes alive with a 6-3 victory over the Long Island University Sharks in front of more than 2,800 fans.

“It’s just how you draw it up, right?” Nanooks coach Erik Largen said after exiting the locker room. “Was I worried? Until the very end.”

The victory enabled the Nanooks to improve their record to 18-10-2 on the season with four games left on the schedule. Alaska is still ranked 17th in the Pairwise rankings which replicate the formula used by the NCAA Division I Hockey Committee to fill its 16-team national championship tournament.

Three of the teams that are ranked in the five spots above the Nanooks lost Saturday night.

Published Feb 19, 2023 by Olivia Olsen

If there’s going to be March Madness in Fairbanks this year, it will have to start in February.

The University of Alaska Fairbanks men’s basketball team played their final home game of the season Saturday, an 83-61 loss against the visiting St. Martin’s University Saints.

The loss by the Nanooks (11-13 overall, 6-10 GNAC) drops them into a tie for eighth place in the conference with two games remaining.

Under the league’s new format, only six teams will advance to the postseason tournament in Bellingham, Washington March 2-4.

While mathematically just one game behind sixth-place Central Washington and half-game behind seventh-place Western Washington, the Nanooks are heading on the road to face second-place Montana State University-Billings (19-7, 13-3) and third-place Seattle Pacific (15-10, 10-6) this week. And even upsetting both of those teams would still require multiple losses by Central Washington, Western Washington and Alaska Anchorage, the latter of which is also 6-10 in league play.  

Published Feb 19, 2023

The 25th annual University of Alaska Southeast's Polar Plunge took place at Statter Harbor Saturday.

UAS is also holding a bonfire at the Noyes Pavillion Saturday evening and a Treadwell skate open to students only. However, the Polar Plunge was open to all of Juneau's community from noon to 1 p.m.

Mallory Nash is the Student Engagement and Leadership (SE&L) Office Manager. She said it was a good turnout with over 100 participants.

"We do this every year. This is our 25 years anniversary for this event and so we're pretty stoked about it. We've got medals we're giving out. I was a little bit worried because of the weather obviously, but it's gonna be cold no matter what," she laughed. "So, I guess participants are like, it's whatever-we're jumping. So people have been showing up in shorts and bathing suits, costumes. It's really fun."

Published Feb 18, 2023 by News-Miner composite image

Three Fairbanks North Star Borough School District superintendent candidates fielded questions Thursday night at North Pole High School as part of a community outreach effort.

The candidates are Luke Meinert, the district’s assistant superintendent of secondary education, Sitka School District Superintendent Frank Hauser, and Ryan Scallon, an assistant superintendent with the School District of Philadelphia.

Hauser spent 25 years as an Alaska educator, including 23 years in the Anchorage School District as a teacher and principal. He earned his teaching endorsement at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Published Feb 18, 2023 by News-Miner

The Fairbanks North Star Borough School District has hired Nicholas Hoy as the permanent principal for Salcha Elementary School starting in the 2023-24 school year.

According to a news release, Hoy moved to Alaska and entered in the University of Alaska school system after serving in the U.S. Air Force.

Hoy has worked in the school district for 12 years as a teacher and instructional coach. He’s currently the interim principal of Salcha Elementary School.

Published Feb 18, 2023 by Clarise Larson

Seals weren’t the only thing in the cold ocean water of Auke Bay this weekend.

On Saturday afternoon more than 100 University of Alaska Southeast students and Juneau residents braved the rain and snow to participate in the 25th annual UAS Polar Plunge, a part of the university’s student Winterfest.

“It’s just always fun to have a campus tradition during the winter that builds camaraderie and brings the community together,” said Mallory Nash, UAS student engagement manager.

Nash said this year is the first time since the pandemic began that the plunge has brought back the event to its full capacity including music, food and most importantly — hot tubs. Since its fruition, the event served as a fundraiser for a variety of different organizations, however, COVID halted that aspect of the event. Nash said UAS hopes to bring back the fundraiser in the upcoming years.

Published Feb 17, 2023

The University of Alaska has a long history of being at the forefront of economic and workforce development in Alaska. With cutting edge research, industry driven degree programs, statewide economic development initiatives, and private sector partnerships, the University provides support for Alaska’s businesses, policymakers and workers at all levels.

As part of those efforts, in 2022 the University’s Alaska Small Business Development Center program (Alaska SBDC) announced that they would be deploying $59 million in State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) program dollars on behalf of the State of Alaska to help drive private sector investments into Alaska’s small businesses through the creation of a $32 million loan guarantee program, a $15.9 million loan participation program, a $2 million loan collateral program and a $10 million equity investment program.

Today, the Alaska SBDC is pleased to announce the launch of these programs with the release of $49 million in Alaska SSBCI lending programs. The Alaska SSBCI Lending Programs will provide incentives to participating lenders that will allow them to make loans to Alaska based small businesses who would normally not qualify. 

Published Feb 17, 2023 by Courtesy of Lloyd Pikok Jr

A University of Alaska Fairbanks graduate student was recently honored by the Explorers Club.

The Explorers Club, a New York-based organization that supports scientific research and exploration, included UAF graduate student Kimberly Kivvaq Pikok in its annual list, “Fifty People Changing the World that the World Needs to Know About.”

According to a release from UAF, “Pikok is researching seasonal changes in Utqiagvik’s spring whaling season by uplifting Indigenous knowledge gathered from hunters and whalers through interviews, a film project and the Alaska Arctic Observatory and Knowledge Hub database.”

“I can’t imagine that anyone embarks on a career in wildlife biology or any conservation-focused field for recognition and awards, because it’s the results we achieve and the difference that we make that matter most,” Pikok said. “Everyone in the community are stewards because we do this work for our people, communities, the next generations, the animals, the land and our culture.”

Pikok is a 2021 UAF graduate and is now a fellow in the Tamamta Fellowship program, a program that bridges Indigenous and Western sciences in the study of fisheries and marine sciences.

Published Feb 17, 2023 by Editorial Board

At various times in the last 15 years, wood bison were taken from thriving Canada herds and, after a period of study in isolation at the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Large Animal Research Station, were transported by barge to an area near the Innoko River. Being migratory, the wood bison herd then settles where it finds territory suitable for it to prosper.

Well-known local conservationist Richard (Dick) Bishop notes how rare it is that a species once extinct in Alaska is now part of a robust herd in our state. “To me, the wood bison restoration is as significant as the musk ox restoration of the 1930s when the federal government brought about 35 musk ox from Greenland and put them on Nunivak Island,” Bishop informed us.

Wood bison and musk ox were eliminated from Alaska in the late 1800s or early 1900s. 

“There were ups and downs [about the project],” wood bison restoration biologist Tom Seaton said. Dangers always exist in the wild, such as the bison falling through ice or drowning in the flooded river.

Seaton said he is optimistic that the herds will reach a substantial size so that hunters may be allowed to harvest a few in five to ten years. Another possibility is that some bison will be culled from the herd and taken to other areas in Alaska.

Published Feb 17, 2023 by Clarise Larson

In an effort to find out if this new technology really has what it takes to converse in Lingít, the Empire asked ChatGPT to write a story in the Tlingit language and reached out to a fluent speaker and a professor of Alaska Native languages at the University of Alaska Southeast, X’unei Lance Twitchell, who decided to analyze a Lingít short story written by ChatGPT in with his Intermediate Tlingit II class Thursday evening.

The results?

“It’s total nonsense, it’s not even close,” he said, laughing with the 15 or so students who attended the class.

For the most part, he said the “story” written by the AI largely grabbed random words with perhaps a little association and put them together in a pattern that is also random. His own name was even thrown in there a few times as well, for a reason unknown to him.

“That’s a new one — I’ve never seen that one before,” he said pointing to a word on the screen with a laugh. “And, I don’t think that’s actually a word? I don’t think it is,” he said about another.

Twitchell said while the ChatGPT’s use of Lingít might not be exactly correct — or even all correct — he said still thinks AI could be a helpful tool if the technology advances to the point where it’s accurate and could assist learners of the Lingít and other Alaska Native languages as the number of speakers have dwindle dramatically over time.

I do think it could be helpful,” he said. “I think some sort of AI could give you a starting point, we could always use more tools”

According to estimates by the University of Fairbanks Alaska Native Language Center, approximately 500 Lingít speakers are scattered across different Southeast Alaska communities. However, Twitchell said that number is likely even less and estimated that around 200 speakers are actively using the language.

Published Feb 16, 2023 by RSS Feed

The new findings complement an earlier study of the climate change costs to public infrastructure in Alaska. That 2017 study, by scientists with the Environmental Protection Agency, the University of Alaska Fairbanks and other institutions, put the cost of repairs at $32 billion by 2030 and $56 billion by 2080. It calculated damages from a variety of climate-change impacts, including flooding and erosion as well as permafrost thaw, and it also extended to pipelines, which are not included in the new study.

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities is already tallying some of the costs imposed by climate change. By 2013, the department estimated, road-maintenance costs caused by thawing permafrost had reached $11 million a year in the state’s northern district alone. The department is now employing a variety of technical fixes to try to preserve the freeze in the ground and keep those costs under control.

Streletskiy said addressing permafrost damage will require a variety of responses beyond long-term reductions in emissions and climate change. It also requires shorter-term improvements to planning, design, maintenance and training, he said. For example, managers should avoid dumping large amounts of plowed snow or allowing large amounts of water runoff onto permafrost terrain, he said, as deep snow and water flow can lead to faster thaw.

“Not paying attention to these problems does make it worse,” he said.

And the first step to addressing a problem is understanding it, he said: “Without knowing what the problem is, there is no solution.”