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  • Frank Witmer, UAA

    Meet Frank Witmer, New UAA Co-PI for Interface of Change

    November 26, 2024

    Meet Frank Witmer, UAA co-PI for the Interface of Change project, faculty member and computational geography of the UAA Computer Science & Engineering department.

  • The Land Loves Us: Relationship to the Land from an Alaska Native Perspective

    November 11, 2024

    Join us November 18, 2024, 12-1 pm for a virtual presentation by Tia Tidwell and hosted by Debbie Mekiana of the UAF College of Indigenous Studies, Department of Alaska Native Studies and Rural Development

  • “We listen with our ears,” said Justina Starzynski-Hotch as she tugged on her earlobe. She said the phrase in Tlingit first, then in English as she sat in a circle of 33 children in the center of the gymnasium of the Klukwan School. Their cross-legged bodies circled around the school’s logo: a formline representation of Eagle and Raven, the two Tlingit moieties, leaping after a basketball.

    Alaska Science Olympiad Visits Klukwan School

    November 04, 2024

    “We listen with our ears,” said Justina Starzynski-Hotch as she tugged on her earlobe. She said the phrase in Tlingit first, then in English as she sat in a circle of 33 children in the center of the gymnasium of the Klukwan School. Their cross-legged bodies circled around the school’s logo: a formline representation of Eagle and Raven, the two Tlingit moieties, leaping after a basketball. “We listen with our eyes,” she said as she touched the corner of her eye. “We listen with our mouths. We listen with our bodies.” Among the many hats worn by Starzynski-Hotch, she is a Tlingit language teacher and the STEPS coordinator at the Klukwan School. She has been involved in the village school for many years, and cares deeply for its survival. On September 19, she was substituting. And it was a special day – Science Olympiad day.

  • In a state both so large and so small, how can we include Alaskan children in STEM learning opportunities more evenly across the state? This fall, with remaining funding from the NSF EPSCoR Fire & Ice project, we were able to make a special effort to reach rural Alaskan communities that cannot feasibly transport a team of children to Fairbanks to compete in the Alaska Science Olympiad.

    Bringing Science Olympiad to Rural Alaska

    October 31, 2024

    In a state both so large and so small, how can we include Alaskan children in STEM learning opportunities more evenly across the state? This fall, with remaining funding from the NSF EPSCoR Fire & Ice project, we were able to make a special effort to reach rural Alaskan communities that cannot feasibly transport a team of children to Fairbanks to compete in the Alaska Science Olympiad.

  • Announcing the 2024 Interface of Change Seed Awardees

    October 31, 2024

    We are delighted to announce the 2024 Interface of Change seed awardees! We awarded three research seed awards, and one student research seed award.

  • Scuba diving at the Sitka Sound Science Center

    Support for Sitka Sound Science Center Participation

    September 17, 2024

    Alaska EPSCoR is offering support for students, postdocs, and faculty to apply for support to participate in the Sitka Sound Science Center's "Scientist in Residency Fellowship" (SIRF) or "Scientists in the Schools" (SIS) programs in spring 2025. Apply by September 30, 2024.

  • Drone photo of Kachemak Bay by Aeon Russo

    2024-2025 Interface of Change Travel Awards

    September 16, 2024

    Alaska NSF EPSCoR announces the availability of travel funding up to $1,500 for UA affiliates and AK EPSCoR project partners.

  • Interface of Change Year 1 Seed Awards

    August 15, 2024

    Alaska NSF EPSCoR is excited to announce the first round of research seed awards under our project "Interface of Change."

  • The 2023 Delta Fire burns in the Donnelly Training Area, west of the Delta Creek.

    Fire & algorithm: Predicting fire weather with artificial intelligence

    June 12, 2024

    Climate change is shifting weather patterns and complicating the Alaskan wildfire season. Artificial intelligence could illuminate our ability to predict each season's unique personality. As we enter the fire season in 2024, we look back on the week of lightning that ignited last year's wildfires and anticipate the development of new prediction and modelling tools.

  • Photo by Sydney Wilkinson. Interface of Change project director Brenda Konar, left, and University of Alaska Fairbanks postdoctoral researcher Brian Ulaski, right, prepare to survey an oyster mariculture farm in Simpson Bay near Cordova.

    Five-year project will study climate effects on Alaska marine species

    April 10, 2024

    The National Science Foundation has awarded $20 million to the University of Alaska to investigate climate change effects on culturally and commercially important marine species in the Gulf of Alaska. Interface of Change is the sixth five-year, multimillion dollar project directed by the Alaska Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, a statewide program administered at the University of Alaska Fairbanks since 2001 and funded by the NSF.