Joe Kan is an Emeritus Professor and Dean at UAF. Dr. Kan earned his Ph.D degree from the University of California at San Diego in 1969, went on fo Dartmouth College to do postdoctoral research for two years. He joined the faculty at the Geophysical Institute of University of Alaska in 1972. Joe's research goal is to understand geomagnetic storm and substorm in the Earth's magnetosphere. He looks forward to telling a good story on magnetic storm and substorm to his colleagues in the space science community, to the general public and to his family members when he is done with his research career.

In my 40 years research career at UAF, I learned that research depends on how well you can apply what you know to solve your problem. In other words research depends on IQ (intellectual inteligence), EQ (emotional intelligence), and SQ (spiritual intelligence). Inspired creativity centers on SQ, supported by IQ and EQ. That is why after my retirement in 2003, I concentrate my research on two subject areas: Seeking inspired creativity and geomagnetic storm and substorm. I believe that inspired creativity is necessary for an individual to achieve great goals in life. My research goal is to tell a self-consistent story of geomagnetic storm and substorm.