News briefs: People and programs at UAF

Submitted by Marmian Grimes
Phone: 907-474-7902
06/23/09

Extension offers new food preservation help
Just in time for the berry season, the UAF Cooperative Extension Service introduces "Making Jams and Jellies," a Web-based instructional module that combines written, audio and video information. The new Flash module will lead jam and jelly makers through the process, from choosing fruit to canning and storing the final product. Others modules in the Preserving Alaska’s Bounty series cover canning basics and canning fish and game meat in cans and jars. All may be viewed at www.uaf.edu/ces/preservingalaskasbounty. The modules require Adobe Flash Player, which may be downloaded from the site. Also new is "Drying Foods," the latest food preservation DVD in the Preserving Alaska’s Bounty series. The DVD provides an overview and information on drying fruits, vegetables and herbs and making fruit leather. Get a copy from your local Extension office or order one by calling 1-877-520-5211. Copies cost $5.

KUAC earns National Educational Telecommunications Association award
KUAC TV has received an award from the National Educational Telecommunications Association for its outreach efforts in the production of its International Polar Year segments. The NETA Awards are an annual recognition of member-produced excellence in public broadcasting. KUAC TV partnered with the University of Alaska to help people across the state better understand the contributions of the International Polar Year. KUAC executive producer Claudia Clark, producer Deb Lawton, editor Aaron Elterman and writer Lynne Snifka, from the UAF journalism department, were recognized for their efforts on the project.

Sprite imaging leads to new discoveries
Geophysics professor Hans Nielsen is the first author of an article, "High time-resolution sprite imaging: Observations and Implications," which examines the experimental protocols developed for high-speed observations of sprites and what was learned as a result of improving observation systems. Sprites are large, bright, short-lived, optical emissions sometimes seen at high altitudes, 60-90 kilometers, above lightning activity. They were discovered in 1989. Since 2005, Nielsen and M.G. McHarg, from the United States Air Force Academy and a UAF graduate, used an intensified Phantom-7 high-speed camera to capture sprites at 10,000 frames per second. This has provided a very different view of sprite development and changed previous notions of sprite dynamics. By comparison, a video camera shoots 30 frames per second. "The downward propagating tendrils and upward propagating branches, so clearly identifiable in the earlier images, are actually fast moving streamer heads rather than luminous streamers," write Nielsen and McHarg.

Klein earns fleet management’s highest certification
Martin Klein, head of transportation and parking services at UAF, recently earned the Certified Automotive Fleet Manager designation, the fleet management industry’s highest level of certification, from NAFA Fleet Management Association. Klein, a member of NAFA’s Puget Sound Chapter, has 25 years of fleet experience and oversees the university’s fleet of more than 300 vehicles and equipment, in addition to university parking operations. Klein has been a Member of NAFA Fleet Management Association since 2006. To become certified, an applicant must pass a series of comprehensive examinations to demonstrate expertise in eight disciplines of automotive fleet management.

Facilities Services recognized for customer service
University of Alaska Fairbanks Facilities Services recently was recognized for having the highest customer service rating of public schools west of the Rockies, according to data gathered by Sightlines, a company that manages one of the largest facilities databases in the country. The company has more than 230 public and private universities in its databases.

CONTACT: Marmian Grimes, UAF public information officer, at 907-474-7902 or via e-mail at marmian.grimes@uaf.edu.

MLG/6-23-09/196brfs-09