UAF in the news: week of Aug. 10, 2009

Submitted by Marmian Grimes
Phone: 907-474-7902
08/14/09

Experiment Farm growing grass that saves planes
Anchorage Daily News
PALMER -- Amid test plots of lettuce and barley, researchers at Matanuska Experiment Farm on Trunk Road are testing turf aimed at cutting down on airplane dents and dings. Read more ...

UAF assists fire crews by deploying 40-pound robotic planes off Steese
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
Poker Flat researchers are assisting firefighters by deploying 40-pound robotic planes to track the spread of fires near Circle. The planes have been flying off the Steese Highway near Mile 145 since Wednesday. Read more ...

Alaska-China student exchange program continues to grow
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
FAIRBANKS--A visiting Chinese education-exchange official said Sunday that an agreement between Alaska and universities in China presents a unique, region-to-region "model" for others looking to exchange researchers and students between countries and cultures. Read more ...

A tangled justice weaves its way in Iraq
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
BAQUBAH, Iraq--The air is hot and thick in the high-ceilinged room as the man shuffles forward.
Sitting at a desk in front of him is a gray-suited official with a folder, who glares and starts asking questions. Read more ...

Researchers to study rebirth of an Alaskan island after volcanic eruption
SITNews
When Alaska’s Kasatochi Volcano, in the western Aleutian arc, erupted on Aug. 7, 2008, it virtually sterilized Kasatochi Island. The eruption covered the small Aleutian island with a layer of ash and other volcanic material several meters thick. It also provided a rare research opportunity: the chance to see how an ecosystem develops from the very first species to colonize an area. Read more ...

Fairbanks racers limp to respectable finish in Wilderness Classic
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
FAIRBANKS--There were points in the Alaska Mountain Wilderness Classic that both Forrest Karr and Steve Taylor wondered if they would be able to go on. Read more ...

UAF receives grant for statewide education
Juneau Empire
FAIRBANKS-- The U.S. Department of Education announced Wednesday the award of two grants, totaling more than $2.3 million, to the University of Alaska Fairbanks Interior-Aleutians Campus to make college accessible to Alaska Natives throughout the state. Read more ...

Increased ocean acidification in Alaska waters, new findings show
Science Daily
The same things that make Alaska’s marine waters among the most productive in the world may also make them the most vulnerable to ocean acidification. According to new findings by a University of Alaska Fairbanks scientist, Alaska’s oceans are becoming increasingly acidic, which could damage Alaska’s king crab and salmon fisheries. Read more ...

4-H reindeer auction makes history at the Tanana Valley State Fair
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
FAIRBANKS--Animals don’t usually audition for the Tanana Valley State Fair. This year was an exception for Adolph, Pumba and Winston, a trio of domestic reindeer raised by three local 4-H students. Read more ...