Students

Students at the Geophysical Institute perform their studying and research across the following departments, colleges and disciplines:

Natural Resources Management: School of Natural Resources & Agricultural Sciences
The Geological Engineering program
College of Natural Sciences & Mathematics
- Department of Geology and Geophysics
- Physics Department

Life at the Geophysical Institute (GI) (as described by the folk in the Seismology and Geodesy groups) "The GI is located on the campus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks. An extensive trail system next to the GI is maintained for running and cycle in the summer. In the winter the trails and lighted and professionally groomed for cross country skiing. Our students are active outdoors and take advantage of Alaska's limitless wilderness opportunities, often in conjunction with their research." [ read more ]

Research Focus
The Geophysical Institute covers a wide variety of disciplines. Look at the list of recent Graduate Students within the Snow, Ice and Permafrost Research area and you'll find topics ranging from Antarctic Ice dynamics to the Bering Glacier Seismicity. In addition to regular term-based study, Summer Programs are quite diverse. Get instruction from the best of the best during the Polar Aeronomy and Radio Science (PARS) Summer School. Hands-on experimental experience for students and their graduate supervisors supported by the Office of Naval Research, the Air Force Research Laboratory, and the Upper Atmosphere Program of the National Science Foundation.

More Links

Science Education Outreach Network
See the collection of programs that go on around the year.

Funding Information

Jessica Bennett, Admissions Counselor Financial Support is available within the University system. Here are a few areas where you can learn more about opportunities to offset the cost of your education. Please speak with an Admissions Counselor for additional help.

More links

Grants and Fellowships for Graduate School students
Teaching and Research Assistantships

Attachment	Size
Student Travel Grant Application	55.54 KB

General Information

Student entry International Polar Year photo contest The following are quick links to take you to the University of Alaska Fairbanks web page on the specific topic. Feel free to contact us if you need assistance or guidance.

How to Apply
Get to know the University of Alaska Fairbanks
University of Alaska Fairbanks Graduate School
PhD Programs
Masters Programs
International Students and Scholars

Cost of Living in Alaska
See the Alaska Department of Labor & Workforce Development website to learn more about relocating to Alaska. This site covers community information, cost of living differences (weekly food and utility costs, average rentals, fuel prices) relocation analysis, and links to the weather.

See information on student housing options. Amazing variety of options for living on campus: single student housing, family and employee housing, graduate student and non-traditional housing options. Find more information about the cost of off campus rentals on Craig's List.

Learn more about Fairbanks
The Daily News-Miner e-edition provides top stories of Fairbanks and Alaska and let you explore a valuable list of local links to services in Fairbanks and the state of Alaska.

Graduate Students

The Geophysical Institute is pleased to swell the ranks of hard working staff with hard working student employees. See a list of current student employees.

Alphabetical Listing

Last	First	Phone	Email	Office
Aarhus	Jonathan		jonathan [dot] aarhus [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 712
Adamson	Eric		etadamson [at] alaska [dot] edu
Alvarez	Kaz	799-4869	kaz [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 611
Andersen	Carl	x7075	ftcsa [at] uaf [dot] edu	Elvey 708B
Baer	Adrian	x1152	atbaer [at] alaska [dot] edu	WRRB 002
Bartholomaus	Timothy	x5751	tbartholomaus [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu
Bates	Daniel	x7122	djbates [at] alaska [dot] edu
Baumgartner	Milaud	x7251	mrbaumgartner [at] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 225
Bell	Jennifer		jmbell3 [at] alaska [dot] edu	Akasofu 345
Benowitz	Jeffrey		jbenowitz [at] alaska [dot] edu
Bhattacharya	Tapas	x5747	tbhattacharya [at] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 708F
Bieniek	Peter		pbieniek [at] alaska [dot] edu	Akasofu 345
Bodily	Cameron	x7613	cjbodily [at] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 701G
Brann	Joel		jbrann [at] alaska [dot] edu	Akasofu 204
Bruton	Christopher	x5517	cpbruton [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 308
Buurman	Helena	x7309	helena [at] giseis [dot] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 307
Cain	Grant	x7122	gcain3 [at] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 511 O
Cornachione	Adam		acornachione [at] alaska [dot] edu
Crowder	Kerri	x5591	kjcrowder [at] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 204G
Curran	Lorna	x1152	lornacurran [at] yahoo [dot] com	WRRB 002
Davis	Jeremy		jmdavis6 [at] alaska [dot] edu
Dawson	Kit		kitdawson [at] gmail [dot] com	Elvey 701
Della-Giustina	Daniella	x5751	daniedg [at] gmail [dot] com	Elvey 413E
Denney	Amy	x2409	acdenney [at] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 506D
Denny	Casey	x1164	cldenny [at] alaska [dot] edu	WRRB 101
DeRoin	Nicole	x5517	nderoin [at] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 307
Dunn	Andrew		aldunn [at] alaska [dot] edu
Ekstrand	Angela	x7490	angela [dot] ekstrand [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu	WRRB 106
Elliott	Julie	x7428	julie [at] giseis [dot] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 413A
Fortun	Todd		tafortun [at] alaska [dot] edu
Fu	Yuning	x5997	yuning [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 413
George	Ophelia	x5517	ogeorge [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 307
Gong	Wenyu	x6839	gwenyu [at] alaska [dot] edu	WRRB 106A
Habermann	Marijke	x1896	hmarijke [at] gmail [dot] com	Elvey 410
Henton	Sarah		shenton [at] alaska [dot] edu
Herreid	Samuel	x7187	sjherreid [at] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 401
Huff	Deanna	x2436	dhuff5 [at] alaska [dot] edu	Akasofu 338C
Huff	Deanna	x2436	dhuff5 [at] alaska [dot] edu	Akasofu 338C
Irving	Brita	x7618	bkirving [at] alaska [dot] edu	Akasofu 338
Jafari	Ramin	x5124	rjafari [at] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 713 A
Jafarov	Elchin	x7184	eejafarov [at] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 407
Johnson	Austin	x1896	austin [dot] johnson [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 410
Jones	Benjamin	x7548	bjones [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 506C
Jones	Joshua	x5648	jmjones3036 [at] hotmail [dot] com	WRRB 104.3
Joyce	Patrick	x7618	pljoyce [at] alaska [dot] edu	Akasofu 338
Kammae	Takeshi	x7578	tkammae [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 713
Kayetha	Vinay		vkkayetha [at] alaska [dot] edu	Akasofu 338
Kellerhals	Alexander	x5591	askellerhals [at] alaska [dot] edu	Akasofu 204G
Keplinger	Keegan		thexaos [at] hotmail [dot] com	Elvey 706
Kunat	Monica		mkunat [at] alaska [dot] edu
LaDouceur	Michael		meladouceur [at] alaska [dot] edu
Leelasakultum	Ketsiri		kleelasakultum [at] alaska [dot] edu
Lopez	Taryn	x5713	tlopez [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu	Akasofu 338B
Ma	Xuanye	x5747	fsxm1 [at] uaf [dot] edu	Elvey 708F
Mayfield Jr	John	x7618	jamayfieldjr [at] alaska [dot] edu	Akasofu 338
McAlpin	David	x5648	dbmcalpin [at] alaska [dot] edu	WRRB 104.1
McNabb	Robert	x7679	robertmcnabb [at] gmail [dot] com	Elvey 410C
Miller	Summer	x5997	summer [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 413
Miranda	Alexa		ammiranda2 [at] alaska [dot] edu
Mueller-Stoffels	Marc	x5473	mmuellerstoffels [at] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 110A
Narravula	Vikram		vrnarravula [at] alaska [dot] edu
Neill	Owen	x6171	oneill244 [at] yahoo [dot] com	Elvey 310
Oldham	Justin	x7220	joldham6 [at] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 706
Otterbacher	Scott		sotterbacher [at] alaska [dot] edu
Panda	Santosh	x5648	santosh [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu	WRRB 104.5
Parris	Richard	x5124	rtparris [at] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 713A
Patil	Mitali		mspatil [at] alaska [dot] edu	Akasofu 345
Perreault	John	x1152	jmperreault [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu	WRRB 002
Peterson	Peter		pkpeterson [at] alaska [dot] edu
Pilch	Stephanie		srpilch [at] alaska [dot] edu
Podrasky	David	x1896	dbpodrasky [at] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 410
Reyes	Celso	x5517	celso [at] giseis [dot] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 307
Rinkleff	Peter		peter [dot] rinkleff [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 310
Roth	Frederick	x6166	fjroth [at] alaska [dot] edu	Akasofu 204F
Salazar Jaramillo	Susana		ssalazar2 [at] alaska [dot] edu
Schaefer	Katherine		keschaefer [at] alaska [dot] edu
Sharp	Kelly		kesharp [at] alaska [dot] edu
Shimer	Grant		gtshimer [at] alaska [dot] edu
Shipman	Jill	x6171	jshipman [at] giseis [dot] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 310
Sliwinski	Maciej		mgsliwinski [at] alaska [dot] edu
Soundararajan	Srikamal	x7613	ssrikamaljaganraj [at] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 701
Spencer	Vanessa
Steensen	Torge	x6032	tsteensen [at] gmail [dot] com	WRRB 106B
Sterle	Katrina	x6175	katrina [dot] sterle [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 611
Stevens	Richard	x7580	rjstevens [at] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 708F
Talbot	Jean		jktalbot2 [at] alaska [dot] edu	Akasofu 338
Theurer	Timothy	x5124	tetheurer [at] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 713A
Tillapaugh	Megan	x7184	mtillapaugh [at] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 403
Titus	Matthew		mjtitus [at] alaska [dot] edu
Tomsich	Carla		cstomsich [at] alaska [dot] edu
Tran	Huy		hntran [at] alaska [dot] edu	Akasofu 338
Traxler	Nicholas		nbtraxler [at] alaska [dot] edu
Trochim	Erin	x1157	edtrochim [at] alaska [dot] edu	WRRB 106A
Truessel	Barbara	x7443	btruessel [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 401
Watson	Christopher	x2409	cewatson [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 506D
Wentz	Raelene		rwentz [at] alaska [dot] edu
Worden	Anna	x6839	akworden [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu	WRRB 106
Young	Joanna	x7187	jcyoung6 [at] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 410

Current as of 11/01/2010

Atmospheric Sciences Students

Go to the Atmospheric Sciences main page

Last	First	Phone	Email	Office	Affiliation
Bell	Jennifer		jmbell3 [at] alaska [dot] edu	Akasofu 345	Grad Asst Research
Bieniek	Peter		pbieniek [at] alaska [dot] edu	Akasofu 345	Grad Asst Research
Fortun	Todd		tafortun [at] alaska [dot] edu		Grad Asst Research
Huff	Deanna	x2436	dhuff5 [at] alaska [dot] edu	Akasofu 338C	Grad Asst Research
Huff	Deanna	x2436	dhuff5 [at] alaska [dot] edu	Akasofu 338C	Grad Asst Teaching
Joyce	Patrick	x7618	pljoyce [at] alaska [dot] edu	Akasofu 338	Grad Asst Research
Kayetha	Vinay		vkkayetha [at] alaska [dot] edu	Akasofu 338	Grad Asst Research
Leelasakultum	Ketsiri		kleelasakultum [at] alaska [dot] edu		Grad Asst Research
Lopez	Taryn	x5713	tlopez [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu	Akasofu 338B	Grad Asst Research
Narravula	Vikram		vrnarravula [at] alaska [dot] edu		Student Assistant C
Patil	Mitali		mspatil [at] alaska [dot] edu	Akasofu 345	Grad Asst Research
Soundararajan	Srikamal	x7613	ssrikamaljaganraj [at] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 701	Grad Asst Research
Talbot	Jean		jktalbot2 [at] alaska [dot] edu	Akasofu 338	Grad Asst Research
Tran	Huy		hntran [at] alaska [dot] edu	Akasofu 338	Grad Asst Research

Remote Sensing Students

Go to the Remote Sensing main page

Last	First	Phone	Email	Office	Affiliation
Baer	Adrian	x1152	atbaer [at] alaska [dot] edu	WRRB 002	Student Assistant C
Bates	Daniel	x7122	djbates [at] alaska [dot] edu		Student Assistant C
Baumgartner	Milaud	x7251	mrbaumgartner [at] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 225	Student Assistant C
Brann	Joel		jbrann [at] alaska [dot] edu	Akasofu 204	Student Assistant C
Cain	Grant	x7122	gcain3 [at] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 511O	Student Assistant C
Crowder	Kerri	x5591	kjcrowder [at] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 204G	Student Assistant C
Curran	Lorna	x1152	lornacurran [at] yahoo [dot] com	WRRB 002	Student Assistant C
Denny	Casey	x1164	cldenny [at] alaska [dot] edu	WRRB 101	Grad Asst Research
DeRoin	Nicole	x5517	nderoin [at] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 307	Grad Asst Research
Gong	Wenyu	x6839	gwenyu [at] alaska [dot] edu	WRRB 106A	Grad Asst Research
Kellerhals	Alexander	x5591	askellerhals [at] alaska [dot] edu	Akasofu 204G	Student Assistant C
McAlpin	David	x5648	dbmcalpin [at] alaska [dot] edu	WRRB 104.1	Grad Asst Research
Miller	Summer	x5997	summer [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 413	Grad Asst Research
Perreault	John	x1152	jmperreault [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu	WRRB 002	Grad Asst Research
Rinkleff	Peter		peter [dot] rinkleff [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 310	Grad Asst Research
Roth	Frederick	x6166	fjroth [at] alaska [dot] edu	Akasofu 204F	Student Assistant C
Schaefer	Katherine		keschaefer [at] alaska [dot] edu		Student Assistant C

Seismology Students

Go to the Seismology main page

Last	First	Phone	Email	Office	Affiliation
Elliott	Julie	x7428	julie [at] giseis [dot] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 413A	Grad Asst Research
Shipman	Jill	x6171	jshipman [at] giseis [dot] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 310	Grad Asst Research

Snow, Ice & Permafrost Students

Go to the Snow, Ice & Permafrost main page

Last	First	Phone	Email	Office	Affiliation
Bartholomaus	Timothy	x5751	tbartholomaus [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu		Grad Asst Research
Della-Giustina	Daniella	x5751	daniedg [at] gmail [dot] com	Elvey 413E	Grad Asst Research
Habermann	Marijke	x1896	hmarijke [at] gmail [dot] com	Elvey 410	Grad Asst Research
Herreid	Samuel	x7187	sjherreid [at] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 401	Student Asst C
Jafarov	Elchin	x7184	eejafarov [at] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 407	Grad Asst Teaching
Johnson	Austin	x1896	austin [dot] johnson [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 410	Grad Asst Research
Jones	Benjamin	x7548	bjones [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 506C	Grad Asst Research
Jones	Joshua	x5648	jmjones3036 [at] hotmail [dot] com	WRRB 104.3	Grad Asst Research
LaDouceur	Michael		meladouceur [at] alaska [dot] edu		Student Asst C
Mueller-Stoffels	Marc	x5473	mmuellerstoffels [at] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 110A	Grad Asst Research
Panda	Santosh	x5648	santosh [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu	WRRB 104.5	Grad Asst Research
Peterson	Peter		pkpeterson [at] alaska [dot] edu		Grad Asst Research
Podrasky	David	x1896	dbpodrasky [at] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 410	Grad Asst Research
Truessel	Barbara	x7443	b [dot] truessel [at] gmail [dot] com	Elvey 401	Grad Asst Research
Young	Joanna	x7187	jcyoung6 [at] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 410	Grad Asst Research

Space Physics & Aeronomy Students

Go to the Space Physics & Aeronomy main page

Last	First	Phone	Email	Office	Affiliation
Aarhus	Jonathan		jonathan [dot] aarhus [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 712	Student Assistant C
Adamson	Eric		etadamson [at] alaska [dot] edu		Grad Asst Research
Andersen	Carl	x7075	ftcsa [at] uaf [dot] edu	Elvey 708B	Grad Asst Research
Benowitz	Jeffrey		jbenowitz [at] alaska [dot] edu		Grad Asst Research
Bhattacharya	Tapas	x5747	tbhattacharya [at] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 708F	Grad Asst Research
Bodily	Cameron	x7613	cjbodily [at] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 701G	Grad Asst Research
Cornachione	Adam		acornachione [at] alaska [dot] edu		Grad Asst Research
Dawson	Kit		kitdawson [at] gmail [dot] com	Elvey 701	Student Assistant C
Denney	Amy	x2409	acdenney [at] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 506D	Grad Asst Research
Irving	Brita	x7618	bkirving [at] alaska [dot] edu	Akasofu 338	Grad Asst Research
Jafari	Ramin	x5124	rjafari [at] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 713A	Grad Asst Research
Kammae	Takeshi	x7578	tkammae [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 713	Grad Asst Research
Keplinger	Keegan		thexaos [at] hotmail [dot] com	Elvey 706	Grad Asst Research
Ma	Xuanye	x5747	fsxm1 [at] uaf [dot] edu	Elvey 708F	Grad Asst Research
Mayfield Jr	John	x7618	jamayfieldjr [at] alaska [dot] edu	IARC 338	Grad Asst Research
Oldham	Justin	x7220	joldham6 [at] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 706	Grad Asst Research
Otterbacher	Scott		sotterbacher [at] alaska [dot] edu		Grad Asst Research
Parris	Richard	x5124	rtparris [at] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 713A	Grad Asst Research
Spencer	Vanessa				Grad Asst Research
Stevens	Richard	x7580	rjstevens [at] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 708F	Grad Asst Research
Theurer	Timothy	x5124	tetheurer [at] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 713A	Grad Asst Research
Titus	Matthew		mjtitus [at] alaska [dot] edu		Grad Asst Teaching
Watson	Christopher	x2409	cewatson [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 506D	Grad Asst Research

Tectonics & Sedimentation

Go to the Tectonics & Sedimentation main page

Last	First	Phone	Email	Office	Affiliation
Davis	Jeremy		jmdavis6 [at] alaska [dot] edu		Grad Asst Research
Wentz	Raelene		rwentz [at] alaska [dot] edu		Grad Asst Research

Volcanology Students

Graduate students and locations

Go to the Volcanolgy main page
Volcanology has a current list of students and alumni plus images and descriptions of their work/studies.
Image: pictures bottom left Annie Worden, top left Celso Reyes, middle and bottom right Helena Buurman, top right Dr. Hillary Fletcher

Last	First	Phone	Email	Office	Affiliation
Bruton	Christopher	x5517	cpbruton [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 308	Grad Asst Research
Buurman	Helena	x7309	helena [at] giseis [dot] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 307	Grad Asst Research
Dunn	Andrew		aldunn [at] alaska [dot] edu		Student Asst C
Ekstrand	Angela	x7490	angela [dot] ekstrand [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu	WRRB 106	Grad Asst Research
George	Ophelia	x5517	ogeorge [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 307	Grad Asst Research
Henton	Sarah		shenton [at] alaska [dot] edu		Grad Asst Research
Neill	Owen	x6171	oneill244 [at] yahoo [dot] com	Elvey 310	Grad Asst Research
Reyes	Celso	x5517	celso [at] giseis [dot] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 307	Grad Asst Research
Salazar Jaramillo	Susana		ssalazar2 [at] alaska [dot] edu		Grad Asst Research
Shimer	Grant		gtshimer [at] alaska [dot] edu		Grad Asst Research
Sliwinski	Maciej		mgsliwinski [at] alaska [dot] edu		Grad Asst Research
Steensen	Torge	x6032	tsteensen [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu	WRRB 106B	Grad Asst Research
Tillapaugh	Megan	x7184	mtillapaugh [at] alaska [dot] edu	Elvey 403	Grad Asst Research
Tomsich	Carla		cstomsich [at] alaska [dot] edu		Grad Asst Research
Traxler	Nicholas		nbtraxler [at] alaska [dot] edu		Student Assistant C
Worden	Anna	x6839	akworden [at] gi [dot] alaska [dot] edu	WRRB 106	Grad Asst Research

Research Opportunities

The following pages contain information on research opportunities within the Geophysical Institute's Research Programs and Facilities for undergraduate and graduate students within the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Not all areas or units have opportunities open.

Atmospheric Sciences

Main page
List of research areas: Atmospheric Chemistry, Cloud & Aerosol Physics, Arctic Facility for Atmospheric Remote Sensing, Lidar Research Laboratory.

Remote Sensing

Main page & List of Courses by Department
This group has Postdoctoral researchers and a robust group of students within both the Masters and PhD programs. The Earth and Planetary Remote Sensing group researches: Geologic Remote Sensing, Lake and Sea Ice, Planetary Science, Terrestrial Ecology, and Volcanology.
Denali colors student entry IPY photo contest F Mercer

Seismology

Prospective Graduate Students and Postdocs

Student assistantships are available each year in seismology and geodesy. We seek students interested in applying the computational tools of geophysics to issues in tectonics, earthquakes and volcanoes in Alaska and abroad. These research assistantships provide tuition and a competitive stipend, as well as travel to conferences and field work. Because of the unique experiences available in earthquake and volcano studies in Alaska, our program is quite competitive. We support both the M.S. and Ph.D. programs available through the Department of Geology and Geophysics. [ read more ]

Student Gallery

Summer Programs

PARS Summer Program The Geophysical Institute and the University of Alaska Fairbanks have a rich history of Summer Programs.

Alaska is beautiful year-round. The summer is the best time to explore specific research areas. The Polar Aeronmy and Radio Science Summer School is one such example of a program developed to bring exceptional experts together to educate our next generation of scientists.

Polar Aeronomy and Radio Science Summer School

Each summer the UAF Geophysical Institute hosts a Polar Aeronomy and Radio Science (PARS) Summer School, to provides instruction and hands-on experimental experience for students and their graduate advisors. The PARS Summer School provides an opportunity for students to study the upper atmosphere and ionosphere at polar latitudes with practical experience built into the learning process. The theme of the school is Incoherent-Scatter RADAR and AMISR. Instruction covers radar basics, incoherent-scatter theory, radar experiment techniques, the characteristics of the ionosphere and atmosphere which is the target observed by ISR, and finally ISR observations of ionospheric modification experiments.

[ Learn more about PARS ]

Bill Bristow
University of Alaska Fairbanks
Geophysical Institute
email: ffwab [at] uaf [dot] edu

Science Teacher Education Program

Our summer programs include the Science Teachers Education Program. K-12 teachers come to a two week program during the summer to learn materials they can include in their own lesson plans.

The Science Teacher Education Program connects Alaska teachers with scientists and educational professionals in a two- week-long Summer Institute.

Since 2006 more than 130 teachers traveled to the Geophysical Institute to participate in the Science Teacher Education Program (STEP.) [ Learn more about STEP ]

Polar Aeronomy and Radio Science Summer School

This school is supported by the Air Force Research Laboratory, and the Upper Atmosphere Program of the National Science Foundation. Instructional activities over a two week period with opportunities for hands-on observational experiments at Poker Flat research range and the HAARP Gakona Observatory.

School Information

The Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska Fairbanks held a Polar Aeronomy and Radio Science (PARS) Summer School in late July 2010, which to provide instruction and hands-on experimental experience for students and their graduate supervisors. Supported by the Office of Naval Research, the Air Force Research Laboratory, and the Upper Atmosphere Program of the National Science Foundation. It was held in Fairbanks and Gakona districts of Alaska from July 13 to July 23.

Motivation

Each time we run the summer program, we change the focus. This summer's motivation was to provide an opportunity for students to study the upper atmosphere and ionosphere at polar latitudes with practical experience built into the learning process. There is a need for more trained scientists and engineers with a knowledge of the special effects that occur in the ionosphere at high latitudes. This summer school was established to attract students with exceptional talent to become more familiar with this exciting area of study.

Theme

The theme of the school in 2010 was Ionospheric Plasma Physics. Instruction covered the basics of the ionosphere, the magnetosphere, and the atmosphere, and the plasma phenomena in this interesting regeim. Special attention was given to radio wave interaction with the plasma.

Various facilities within Alaska volunteered for student experiments. In Fairbanks, the Poker Flat Incoherent-Scatter RADAR, the Kodiak SuperDARN RADAR, and the Poker Flat LIDAR participated. The HAARP Observatory, home to a 3600 kW High-Frequency radio transmitter and a suite of optical and radio diagnostic

instruments, was the base of operations in Gakona. We used this facility to interact with the local ionosphere to produce small-scale plasma cavities and coherent modulation of the natural electrojet current. Students at Gakona, were able to interact with ionosond, riometer, VLF and ELF receivers, UHF radar (MUIR), VHF radar, optical imagers and photometers.

Student Selection

Students in 2010 submitted proposals for a project that could be undertaken either at Poker Flat Research Range or Gakona Observatory in order to be considered for enrollment. At a cap of 20 students maximum, seats for this Summer School were vied for actively.

Supporters

National Science Foundation
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base: Air Force Research Laboratory [ wikipedia page ]
Office of Naval Research