Launch of third NASA rocket completes complex aurora mission

April 01, 2025

The third and final NASA sounding rocket in a mission to better understand how the aurora affects the upper atmosphere launched at 1:33 a.m. Saturday and dispersed white vapor tracers high over central Alaska.

Control strategies for pretty, but invasive, orange hawkweed

April 01, 2025

Don't be fooled by orange hawkweed, a dainty little orange flower that can take over your pasture, lawn or wildflower garden. In a free statewide webinar, learn how orange hawkweed's biology makes it so invasive and how to use that biology to control it.

Museum family programs highlight trees in April

April 01, 2025

Family programs at the University of Alaska Museum of the North will focus on trees during April.

Sample Cajun etouffee in Sitka cook-off

March 31, 2025

Join the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service in Sitka for a Cajun cuisine cooking competition: The Sitka Etouffee-Off.

Microplastics contaminate spotted seal diets in remote Alaska waters

March 31, 2025

Spotted seals in some of the most remote marine areas around Alaska are consuming significant amounts of microplastics in their diets, according to a new University of Alaska Fairbanks-led study.

Workshop discusses science behind selecting vegetable varieties

March 31, 2025

Learn about the hardiness, yield and taste of different varieties of 10 common garden vegetables during an in-person workshop in Delta Junction.

Journalism, the First Amendment and covering Trump

March 28, 2025

A roundtable of journalists and University of Alaska Fairbanks faculty members will discuss the media's role as President Donald Trump seeks to remake the federal government and punish perceived enemies in the press and judiciary.

Learn the basics of Alaska gardening in workshop series

March 28, 2025

Grow your gardening knowledge in this series of 11 weekly webinars covering the basics of growing vegetables in Alaska. Casey Matney, the Kenai-based agriculture and horticulture agent with the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service, will lead the free classes.

Snow's absence and welcome presence

March 28, 2025

Rick Thoman noted in a recent report that the paucity of 2024-2025 snowfall in Anchorage and other Southcentral Alaska locations may be unprecedented in the era of modern records.

UAF donors contribute $812,373 during Giving Day 2025

March 27, 2025

More than 1,100 University of Alaska Fairbanks supporters donated $812,373 during the fifth annual UA Giving Day event March 25-27. The event set another participation record for UAF, with 1,150 donors making gifts to more than 80 scholarships, programs and initiatives over the course of 49 hours.

'Alaska's Changing Wildfire Environment' report updated

March 27, 2025

The University of Alaska Fairbanks has released an updated report highlighting recent wildfire trends in Alaska, their impacts to humans and wildlife, and how science can improve wildfire management decisions. "Alaska's Changing Wildfire Environment 2.0" provides people with timely, reliable and understandable information in a visually appealing and concise format.

Two NASA rockets launch from Poker Flat, third rocket expected

March 25, 2025

Two NASA sounding rockets launched from Poker Flat Research Range north of Fairbanks early Tuesday morning in a mission aimed at learning more about how the aurora affects the upper atmosphere.

Making sense of Alaska's changing environment

March 25, 2025

Changes in Alaska's environment are evident all across the state, but the details vary greatly. In a webinar hosted by the Anchorage office of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service, UAF climate specialist Rick Thoman will share a broad overview of observed changes around Alaska, from snow and ice to heat and wildfire.

Sikuliaq operating agreement extended through 2028

March 24, 2025

The U.S. National Science Foundation has funded the first year of a new $53.8 million, four-year cooperative agreement with the University of Alaska Fairbanks to continue operating the research vessel Sikuliaq through the end of calendar year 2028. The global-class ice-capable research vessel, which is owned by NSF, has been operated by the UAF College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences since it was constructed in 2014.

Registration open for three-day pesticide training course

March 24, 2025

A three-day online workshop, available statewide, is scheduled in April for people who wish to become certified pesticide applicators in Alaska. The classes are designed to help participants understand and pass the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation exam.

Leaning towers of snow explained

March 21, 2025

Pete Wilda, a Fairbanks reader of this column, wanted to know how the snow here can bend off railings and loop from power lines without breaking. He grew up in eastern Wisconsin and doesn't remember the snow defying gravity there.

Tree felling, chainsaw safety workshop on tap for Sitka

March 21, 2025

Glen Holt, a biomass technician with the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service, will lead two free interactive sessions on basic tree cutting and chainsaw maintenance and repair in Sitka. Both sessions are free and in person.