ONR and ACEP Discuss Innovation and the Future of Energy in Alaska, and Beyond

The Office of Naval Research is interested in increasing collaboration, knowledge sharing and innovation in Alaska and the Arctic region. As part of this effort they are providing funding for the Alaska Regional Collaboration for Technology Innovation and Commercialization (ARCTIC) program.

Last week ONR program managers Michele Anderson and Michael Resner visited Fairbanks and Anchorage for a multi-day review of ARCTIC program efforts led by UAF’s Alaska Center for Energy and Power and Center for Innovation, Commercialization, and Entrepreneurship, as well as program partners Teaching Through Technology Alliance (T3), Renewable Energy Alaska Project, Launch Alaska, the UAA Center for Economic Development.  

ARCTIC is a partnership designed to promote commerce, partnerships and capacity building in Alaska and collaboration across the Arctic and Pacific regions through advancements in energy through resiliency research, technology development and deployment, and education.

In addition to meeting with partners, Anderson and Resner heard from the Alaska Microgrid Group, remote partners in Cordova, Alaska and California, and toured ACEP’s Energy Technology Facility.

The ONR team also was introduced to UA President Pat Pitney, UAF Chancellor Dan Whiteand UAF Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Anupma Prakash. As part of scheduled activities, undergraduate and graduate students and Alaska Fellows shared their experiences in education, workforce development and on-the-job training as part of the ARCTIC program.

The ONR-funded ARCTIC program is fundamentally a capacity building program for technology and people within Alaska and is creating exciting opportunities Alaskans. This investment by ONR is helping achieve strategic goals of the U.S. Navy, U.S. Department of Defense, and broader U.S. government while creating exciting opportunities for Alaskans to continue leading in the integration and testing of innovative energy systems.

For more information on the ARCTIC Program, please contact Dayne Broderson at dayne@alaska.edu.

 

(Left to Right) ACEP’s Phylicia Cicilio Mariko Shirazi, ONR program manager Michele Anderson, Dayne Broderson, and Andrew Miles tour ACEP’s Energy Technology Facility to discuss the testing the future of energy in Alaska. Photo by Vanessa Raymond.