The Science for Alaska Lecture Series: IPY

Submitted by Melissa Hart
Phone: (907) 474-7853
01/12/07

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Alaska played an important role in the first International Polar Year in 1882-83, and scientists in state and around the globe are now gearing up for the fourth IPY, which begins this March and extends through March 2009. In a lecture on Jan. 16, Hajo Eicken, associate professor of geophysics at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, will address the prospects that IPY-4 offers Alaska researchers, educators and the public to jointly address the challenges and opportunities of unprecedented change under way in the North. Eicken is co-chair of the research subcommittee for UAF’s IPY steering committee and has been working for the past year to prepare for this historic event.

"The International Polar Year 2007-08: Opportunities for Alaska"? will launch the 2007 Science for Alaska Lecture Series, which takes place in Fairbanks, Anchorage, Juneau and Seward throughout January and February. The weekly series, coordinated by the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, presents the latest scientific findings relevant to all Alaskans. The free, one-hour lecture begins at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Westmark Gold Room. All ages are welcome.

This is the first installment in the 2007 Science for Alaska Lecture Series, an annual event coordinated and sponsored by the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

ON THE WEB: Information on all lectures and presenters in the 2007 Science for Alaska Lecture Series can be found online at www.scienceforalaska.com.

CONTACT: Hajo Eicken, associate professor of geophysics, at (907) 474-7280. Amy Hartley, Geophysical Institute information officer, at (907) 474-582. Melissa Hart, Geophysical Institute public relations assistant, at (907) 474-7853.