UAF vice chancellor appointed to U.S. Arctic Research Commission

Submitted by Jenn Wagaman
Phone: 907-474-5082
08/13/08

University of Alaska Fairbanks Vice Chancellor for Research Virgil "Buck" Sharpton was named by President George W. Bush as one of three new members of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission.

The commission is responsible for developing an integrated national arctic research policy and works directly with the President, members of Congress as well as the National Science Foundation and other key supporters of arctic research. Members of the commission include four representatives from academic or research institutions, two members from private industry with commercial interests in the arctic and one member from among the indigenous residents of the U.S. Arctic.

"I’m honored to be given this opportunity to represent both our community and the state at the national level," said Sharpton. "I look forward to assisting the commission in formulating sound policy to guide and foster arctic research."

The commission also assists in establishing a national arctic research program to implement national policy and facilitates cooperation between the federal government, state and local governments and other nations with respect to both basic and applied research.

Sharpton joined the UAF faculty in 1998 with a joint appointment at the Geophysical Institute and the Department of Geology and Geophysics. Responsible for setting the research agenda at UAF, he oversees the Center for Research Services, GI, International Arctic Research Center, Office of Electronic Miniaturization, Institute of Arctic Biology and various other research programs. In 2001, he was awarded one of six presidential professorships across the UA statewide system and held the title of president’s professor of remote sensing. Prior to joining UAF, Sharpton was senior staff scientist at the Lunar Planetary Institute affiliated with the NASA Johnson Space Center, where he served for 14 years.

Sharpton earned a B.S. with high honors in geology from Grand Valley State University in 1979 and a Ph.D. and Sc.M. in geological sciences from Brown University in 1984 and 1981 respectively. He was a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council postdoctoral fellow for the Geological Survey of Canada from 1984 to 1986.

For more information contact Jenn Wagaman, research outreach coordinator, at 907-322-2537 or jenn@alaska.edu or Julie Benson, assistant to the vice chancellor at 907-474-5837 or jbenson@alaska.edu . Learn more about research at UAF at www.uaf.edu/research or about the U.S. Arctic Research Commission at www.arctic.gov/index.htm