Celebrating young researchers: Upward Bound T3 students present posters at the 2024 Rural Energy Conference

By Dannia Andrade
December 6, 2024

Eleven students from across Alaska came together for a transformative research experience, showcasing their work at the 2024 Alaska Renewable Energy Conference.

After experiencing a lull due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, 2024 marked the revival of a traditionally annual event. During the conference, energy leaders from across the state, especially remote Alaska communities, discuss relevant topics and the future of Alaska's energy. 

This year, the conference showcased several research projects completed by high school students at the opening reception night hosted by the Alaska Center for Energy and Power. As part of the Teaching Through Technologies Alaska program, in collaboration with the University of Alaska’s Upward Bound Program, these students spent their summer working on energy-related projects that addressed critical issues in their communities and the broader state of Alaska. The culmination of their efforts was a poster session at the conference, an opportunity to celebrate their work as young researchers.

The poster session was more than just a presentation. It was a chance for these students to gain exposure to real-world energy debates, strengthen their understanding of the energy systems in their communities and build critical communication and networking skills. With projects ranging from climate science to renewable energy, the students from schools including North Pole, Mt. Edgecumbe, Sitka, Wrangell and Kusilvak Career Academy in Anchorage proved that the next generation of problem solvers is well on its way to making a significant impact.

Organizing this session came with its challenges. Students had limited time to design and print their posters, especially since many were flying in from different parts of Alaska and most had never made a professional research poster before. With an accelerated timeline to design, complete, and print posters, students needed guidance.

That is where I stepped in to fill the need. As the ACEP Learning Design Fellow through the Alaska Fellows Program, I took on the role of supporting the students in creating their research posters. 

I designed a poster design intensive with the goal of equipping the students with the skills necessary to build an effective academic poster. I wanted the students to think creatively about their research and be proud to display their work in a professional conference setting.

During the workshop, students learned crucial skills in data visualization, time management and teamwork. They were encouraged to think not just about the content of their posters but also about how they could effectively communicate their research visually.

Going from high school to college, I developed a detailed toolkit for conducting research. So, I thought about what would have been helpful to me when I first embarked on my research journey. I included my own experiences of research conferences and what they can expect, and gave them the resources necessary to succeed on their own.

Having been in their shoes years ago, it was a deeply fulfilling experience to guide these students in mastering the principles of effective research poster design and to help them build the confidence to create their own.

During the poster-building workshop, ACEP researchers, leadership and visitors from the Department of Energy were invited to offer constructive feedback to students on their poster design and content. Having collaborative support, discussion and feedback for students was crucial to the success of the workshop. It was a chance for each team to ask questions, make changes to their posters and think critically about how to communicate their project findings. It was also a great networking event and opportunity for students to deepen their understanding of the context of their work. 

Stan Atcitty, a senior scientist at Sandia National Laboratories and a member of the Navajo Nation, spoke to the group. He provided a crash course in professionalism and presentation techniques, boosting the student’s confidence as they prepared to present their work to a wider audience. His message resonated deeply with the students, many of whom come from Indigenous heritage and communities in Alaska.

“I always look for opportunities to speak with Native students and give them insight on what it means to be a Native professional,” Atcitty shared with me after meeting with the group. “I took my 30-plus years of experience in public speaking and gave the students tips and a manageable format they could follow. It was very rewarding to get to see the students’ final products.”

The research projects themselves were as diverse as the students’ home communities. Each project explored a unique aspect of energy or climate science, providing students with hands-on learning opportunities that connected them to their environment.

The climate strand, led by students Daisy Massey and Mary Charlie, traveled to the Copper River Basin to map the effects of climate change. Massey noted phenomena such as an increase in total precipitation, the thawing of permafrost and glacier recession. Charlie emphasized the effects of erosion, noting the impacts of flooding in local communities. 

The mariculture strand, led by Johnathan Free and Eldridge Gumbs, traveled to the communities of Cordova and Valdez to learn about ocean science and aquaculture. Both students, from North Pole High School, recounted during the poster workshop and display sessions, their experience of pulling up kelp logs to take samples back to the lab at Prince William Sound College. They explained how kelp farming could decrease the effects of ocean acidification through carbon sinking. Their research emphasized the importance of sustainable practices in Alaska’s maritime economy. 

The weather strand tackled the design challenges of establishing a weather station at the top of Charlie Dome near Chena Hot Springs. A team of three students, Trevor Bereskin, Kalista Douglas and Delaney Long, worked on programming and constructing an enclosure for a weather station that collected data such as temperature, wind and precipitation.

Douglas explained the trial and error the team experienced when programming the weather station. “It was hard to get the code to work correctly, but by the end, the coding was flawless,” she said,

Bereskin and Douglas are both from Mount Edgecumb High school in Sitka, Alaska. They talked about the weather from their home community and how it affects their day to day life. 

The energy strand, made up of Ander Edens, Andrei Bardin-Siekawitch and Alexandra Fujioka, focused on the impacts and difficulties of getting power to remote communities in Alaska. The team traveled to various power plants in Kotzebue and Fairbanks to learn more about energy delivery systems. The team conducted air quality testing at several sites across Anchorage, Fairbanks and Kotzebue using heat maps.

“I spent a few hours running around campus one night taking meter readings for a heat map,” said Fujioka. 

The last strand worked on establishing live feed cameras at a remote bear observatory at the Anan Wildlife Observatory. Anika Herman, a student from Wrangell, explained that their goal was to design and install a remote camera system that promoted tourism and made Anan accessible to anyone who was interested.

Partnering with the U.S. Forest Service, the students designed, implemented and installed a system including nine solar panels atop the observatory deck to power the cameras. The cameras were a success and are viewable online at explore.org. The students say the next step is to build a salmon viewing camera underwater. 

Seeing a group of students so passionate about their projects reminded me why I love working in education. Each of these projects not only provided students with valuable hands-on experience but also tied back to real-world issues that directly impact their communities.

On the night of the opening reception, each team presented their research at the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum in Fairbanks. Attendees of the conference walked around and viewed the student posters and asked students questions about their research.

The participation of T3 students in the conference was more than just an academic exercise. It was an essential step in their growth as young researchers and future leaders in their communities. By presenting their work at the conference, these students gained exposure to current energy topics and debates and conversations that will shape Alaska’s future. As young researchers, they learned how to articulate their findings, engage with professionals in their fields and think critically about the challenges facing their communities.

These students are not only solving problems for today but are also preparing to lead Alaska into a more sustainable and energy-efficient future.

The T3 participation was made possible with generous support from the Alaska Regional Collaboration for Technology Innovation and Commercialization program, an initiative of the Office of Naval Research.