For the past several years, Dr. Roman Dial has researched tree line in northern Alaska. His undergraduate students may spend 99 days straight in the backcountry, gathering data by foot and by packraft from Canada to Kotzebue. That hands-on research has now produced an open-access publication in Nature, one of the world’s most renowned, most…
Environmental Science
APU undergrads gain more research opportunities in Alaska through AK UNiTE
Collaborating biology faculty at Alaska Pacific University, University of Alaska Anchorage, Kodiak College, and University of Washington Tacoma were awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) Incubator Grant to increase undergraduate research experiences in biology in Alaska, for Alaskans. The universities will establish AK UNiTE, an NSF Research Coordination Network in Undergraduate Biology Education (RCN-UBE). “This…
Photo Book: Senior Project Week at APU
Last week, APU seniors put their days, months, and years of hard work on exhibit for the entire community to see displaying their senior projects in Carr Gottstein and Grant Hall. Topics ranged from remote weather stations and nature activity backpacks to resiliency in Indigenous communities and social media’s influence on avalanche forecasting. Please enjoy…
Meet Dee Barker, APU’s New Assistant Professor of Environmental Science
Dr. Dee Barker is joining APU as Visiting Assistant Professor of Environmental Science. Dee has her graduate degrees in chemistry, with specializations in chemical education and biophysical chemistry, and her undergraduate degrees in chemistry and philosophy. She has extensive experience teaching and conducting research in higher education, including working as a faculty member at…
Environmental Ethics in Alaska
“Environmental ethics” may sound like a chance to eat chia seeds while wearing Birkenstocks, talking about your favorite tree (there certainly is a bit of hippy tree hugger in the soul of any environmental ethicists), but it is, in fact, an academic field of study that investigates the normative dimensions of environmental problems and problem-solving….
Honors Assembly Shines Light on Exemplary Students, Staff, Faculty
With the school year winding down, Alaska Pacific University took time last week to recognize it’s exemplary students, staff, and faculty members during the Annual Honors Assembly. Here are the highlights from the April 20th event. Faculty Merit Awards: It is one of the longstanding traditions at APU, that faculty would recommend one another for…
Spring Course Teaches Students Dog Mushing
For as long back as Andrea Grenier can remember, she’s wanted to be a dog musher. What she doesn’t remember, however, is how she got into the sport. “No one really knows how I got into it — I was raised in Connecticut where there isn’t much mushing and my parents don’t even like dogs,”…
APU Club Volunteers at Girl Scouts of America Women Of Science & Technology Day
On Saturday, February 3rd, the Girl Scouts of Alaska held their Women of Science & Technology Day workshop to help promote curiosity in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields. Members from the American Fisheries Society-Alaska Pacific University Subunit Club (AFS-APU Subunit) volunteered to present two different workshops to Girl Scouts, grades K-3. These…
Sierra Leone project renamed after Prof Myers
Rusty Myers was not only a beloved APU professor, he was also a dedicated humanitarian. He invested much of his time and skill in Chemists Without Borders, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving lives across the globe through chemistry. Because of his years of service in the organization, Chemists Without Borders has renamed the program…
Eagle Glacier Collaboration
A new engineering project between UAA and APU looks to bring the two neighboring communities a little bit closer. Civil engineering students from UAA recently had the opportunity to travel up to the APU Thomas Training Center on the Eagle Glacier. The facility, nearly 5,000ft high up in the Chugach, gives APU Nordic athletes the…
