UAF in the news: Week of Aug. 28, 2006

Submitted by Marmian Grimes
Phone: (907) 474-7902
09/01/06

UAF freshmen get lowdown on low-temperature lifestyle
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
With classes at the University of Alaska Fairbanks starting Thursday, incoming freshmen unfamiliar with the campus and college life have more than a few questions on their minds. Who’s my adviser? How do I register for classes? What do I do with all my extra layers of winter clothing once I’m inside a warm classroom? Read more ...

Celebration marks historic event for satellite facility
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
In December 2004, the Selendang Ayu, a 738-foot freighter loaded with soybeans and 440,000 gallons of oil, was drifting dangerously close to the jagged rocks of Unalaska Island. Pounding surf and ferocious winds tore at the vessel. In the dark of night and in the midst of the raging storm, visibility was low, making rescue efforts treacherous. Read more ...

UA hires scientists in anticipation of International Polar Year
Anchorage Daily News, Fairbanks Daily News Miner, KTVA
The University of Alaska is getting a jump-start on the International Polar Year by hiring a baker’s dozen of budding scientists. Read more ...

Biology major heads to Vietnam to expand horizons
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
Holding up the detached beak of a northern shoveler, Kyle Campbell explained to a group of 11- and 12-year-olds how the ducks use their elongated, S-shaped beaks to scoop up food. Read more ...

Former Fairbanksan wins TV’s biggest honor for movie work
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
When it was announced last Sunday that Ben Grossmann had won an Emmy award, his former boss greeted the news like a kid on Christmas morning who has already seen his presents. Read more ...

Alaska looks to head testing of unmanned planes
Grand Forks Herald
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A small unmanned aircraft buzzes north from Anchorage to drop weather monitors over the Arctic Ocean. On the way, it photographs the trans-Alaska oil pipeline, directs Alaska State Troopers to boaters lost on the Yukon River, and sends images of a North Slope caribou herd to researchers. Read more ...

Debate rages whether young American males are in trouble
Tulsa World
While pundits with statistics and studies argue whether American boys are in trouble, Tim Kurkowski is at football practice. Read more ...

UAF hires new vice chancellor
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
Rosanne "Ro"? Bailey has been named as the new vice chancellor for administrative services at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Read more ...

The sands of Shishmaref
Alaskan Magazine
Located on a narrow spit between the Seward Peninsula and the Chukchi Sea, Shishmaref is the Land of Sand. You knock sand off your shoes as you enter buildings, you blink it from your eyeballs after a gust of wind, you see it on rooftops and wonder how it got there. Tiny grains give way beneath the balls of your feet as you walk, making you feel like a car that’s spinning out. Read more ...

Commentary: Peak oil and the fall of the Soviet Union
Energy Bulletin
After over 70 years in power, the mighty Soviet Empire unexpectedly vanished overnight and almost the entire communist tradition there dissolved. Was the cause of this cataclysmic collapse really the result of communist inefficiency and U.S. president Ronald Reagan’s Cold War military build up? Or was there an oil crisis that shocked the Soviet system? Or if Marxist-Leninist communism was so inefficient, then why did it last for over 70 years, through World War II and early Cold War tensions that were arguably also strong enough to have toppled it? Read more ...

The world and UAF
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
Of the nearly 6,000 students stepping into session at the University of Alaska Fairbanks today, a growing percentage not only come from outside Alaska, but outside the country. Read more ...

Earth Matters
KPFA Flashpoints
Interview with Rick Steiner, professor at the University of Alaska and member of the IUCN’s Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social policy. Read more ...