GI Press Releases
On Saturday, Feb. 18 at 8:41 p.m. Alaska time, scientists launched a NASA sounding rocket from Poker Flat Research Range into a brilliant aurora display. The rocket mission, designed to gather information on space weather conditions that affect satellite communications, was a success. 
University of Alaska Fairbanks professor emeritus Davis “Dave” Sentman has been elected to the 2012 class of fellows for the American Geophysical Union.
Scientists are now at Poker Flat Research Range north of Fairbanks waiting for acceptable conditions for the launch of a National Aeronautics and Space Administration sounding rocket.
Governor Sean Parnell issued an executive proclamation stating Feb. 11, 2012 as Alaska Inventors Day. In celebration of the proclamation, the Alaska Inventors Alliance and the Alaska Patent & Trademark Resource Center will host a daylong event on Saturday, Feb. 11 at the Geophysical Institute where the public can learn about resources available to local inventors, tour the GI Machine and Electronics Shops and meet with Interior mayors and local inventors.
Located at the top of the globe, beneath the Arctic Ocean, the Amerasia Basin is poorly understood. This large depression in the ocean floor was created during the Mesozoic Era, the age of the dinosaurs, but how the tectonic plates shifted to open up and create the basin remains a puzzle. Professor Bernard Coakley and a 12-person crew currently aboard the research vessel Marcus G. Langseth hope to find the fossil plate boundaries associated with the basin and recreate the birth of this mysterious feature.
Fairbanks, Alaska—After a vigorous vetting process, the University of Alaska Fairbanks selected Robert “Bob” McCoy as the Geophysical Institute’s new director. McCoy will be the seventh scientist to the hold the post since the institute was established in Fairbanks in 1946.
Fairbanks, Alaska—The Geophysical Institute’s Alaska Satellite Facility will celebrate 20 years since the first downlink of images from an earth-observing synthetic aperture radar satellite by hosting an Open House on Saturday, Aug. 20, 2011. The event is free and runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on campus.
Fairbanks, Alaska— A free science education resource for Alaska educators is now available online. Developed by the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute under contract to the Alaska Department of Education & Early Development, the Alaska K-12 Science Curricular Initiative is designed to help teachers bring cutting-edge Alaska research to K-12 classrooms.
Fairbanks, Alaska— The use of unmanned aerial vehicles will have a new role in oil spill response capabilities in Alaska. The University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute and BP Exploration Alaska demonstrated the use of a three-pound unmanned aircraft, called “Scout,” as a way of gathering 3-D aerial data to aid in oil spill clean up efforts. Through the use of this technology, oil spill responders can complete Shoreline Clean-up and Assessment (SCAT) survey work with minimal impact on the shoreline or critical habitat.
Fairbanks, Alaska— On a two-day trip to the Aleutians earlier this month, researchers from Poker Flat Research Range evaluated the performance of a new unmanned aircraft system that will be used to monitor Steller sea lions.
