High school students, scientists to discuss climate change

Submitted by Marmian Grimes
Phone: (907) 474-7902
06/20/06

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Fairbanks, Alaska--A select group of high school students from across the state will meet with scientists at the University of Alaska Fairbanks June 22 for a workshop on one of today’s most prominent issues: global climate change.

The group includes members of Alaska Youth for Environmental Action, a program of the National Wildlife Federation, and the UAF high school research internship program. Participants will spend the day in workshops and discussions and on field excursions with some of UAF’s top climate change researchers.

"This is a fabulous opportunity," said Deborah Williams, president of Alaska Conservation Solutions and advisor for the AYEA program. "There is no substitute for exploring these ideas face-to-face with scientists."

The workshop grew out of a meeting in Washington, D.C. between AYEA students and Alaska’s congressional delegation, Williams said. At the end of that meeting, she said Sen. Lisa Murkowski suggested it would be valuable for the students to meet with climate change scientists.

Williams approached Larry Hinzman, deputy director at IARC, who liked the idea and saw an opportunity to open the workshop to high-school interns at UAF. The workshop will allow scientists to present the complexities of the physics, biology, chemistry and engineering behind climate change, Hinzman said, and may pique students’ interest in the field.

"The main thing we are really after is to try to inspire these students to tackle some of these problems in their careers," he said. "Our job is to start training the next generation."

Students will meet with scientists in the morning in IARC Room 401 and are scheduled to depart at 1 p.m. for visits to the permafrost tunnel, a thermokarst lake and sites displaying signs of permafrost degradation.

CONTACT: Marmian Grimes, UAF public information officer, at (907) 474-7902 or via e-mail at marmian.grimes@uaf.edu. Deborah Williams, AYEA advisor, at (907) 929-9370 or via e-mail at dlwilliams@gci.net.