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  • A black and white bird with a long and curved beak

    An update on fishhook chickadee beaks

    September 25, 2026

    Over 26 years ago, my friend Ned Rozell wrote about a startling new deformity seen in Alaskas black-capped chickadees: In 1991, a man living in King Salmon noticed three black-capped chickadees with beaks curved like fishhooks, Rozell wrote. Since then, hundreds of people from Southcentral Alaska have seen chickadees with overlong beaks that make it difficult for the birds to feed. The drastic increase in sightings has biologists worried that something is very wrong in Southcentral.
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  • New vegetation emerges across a recently burned Alaska landscape. Research led by Ben Gaglioti shows that previously burned areas can act as natural barriers to future wildfire spread by reducing available fuels. Photo by Ben Gaglioti.

    Research finds past burns can limit Alaska wildfire spread

    September 24, 2026

    UAF-led research found that previously burned areas can act as natural barriers to wildfire spread by reducing available fuels. The effect can persist for decades, although hot, dry and windy conditions make fires more likely to cross into younger burn scars.
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  • Portrait of Nate Raymond

    Pulitzer-winning journalist to speak at UAF Oct. 8

    September 24, 2026

    Pulitzer Prize-winning Reuters reporter Nate Raymond returns to the 窪蹋勛圖厙 Oct. 8 to share stories from two decades on the legal news beat.
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  • Person wearing parka standing on jumbled sea ice looks towards sun low on horizon.

    Indigenous observations make Arctic Ocean models more accurate

    September 18, 2026

    Working with Indigenous observers on Alaska's northern coast, a research team has developed a way to improve the modeling of oceanic changes.
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  • ACUASIs yellow, white and blue Windracers ULTRA drone carrying chilled human blood samples takes off from Nenana Municipal Airport on Aug. 19, 2026. The twin-engine aircraft climbs with its landing gear still extended against a bright blue sky with thin clouds.

    UAF drone program tests long-distance blood sample delivery

    September 17, 2026

    Alaska's drone research program successfully completed a 1,000-kilometer test flight carrying human blood samples for the International Testing Agency, which investigates doping by athletes at the Olympics and other major sporting events.
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  • Two people look at a map in an office

    Mapping tsunamis, building trust

    September 17, 2026

    While taking a quick shower before her son's fourth birthday party on Dec. 26, 2004, tsunami scientist Elena Troshina heard the phone ring. Deciding it was worth jumping out, she picked it up -- with kids, you never know.
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  • A fulldome planetarium still from

    Planetarium introduces family matinees on Saturdays

    September 11, 2026

    The Walt and Marita Babula Planetarium at the University of Alaska Museum of the North will show family matinees on Saturday mornings in September.
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  • Nominations sought for UAF alumni awards

    September 10, 2026

    The 窪蹋勛圖厙 and the UAF Alumni Association are inviting nominations for the 2027 Distinguished Alumnus and William R. Cashen Service awards. As UAFAA prepares to kick off its centennial celebration in November, the association is expanding its recognition to highlight more members of the university community.
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  • Black-and-white historic photo of Kennecott Mines, with railcars piled high with copper ore awaiting shipment on the Copper River and Northwestern Railway. Mine buildings, conveyors and other structures rise on the hillside behind the train.

    Getting to the bottom of copper's rise to the top

    September 10, 2026

    Kennecott has been spruced up quite a bit since my last visit there nearly 30 years ago.
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  • A parent and two young children examine traditional woven baskets at a table during a museum family program. One child holds a small birchbark basket and another handles the loose weaving strands of a larger grass basket.

    September museum programs focus on baskets

    September 10, 2026

    The University of Alaska Museum of the North will focus on baskets during September.
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  • A 窪蹋勛圖厙ed vintage bus marked

    $300,000 federal grant to support Bus 142 exhibits

    September 09, 2026

    A $300,000 grant to the University of Alaska Museum of the North will pay for exhibits centered on the abandoned bus made famous by the "Into the Wild" book and movie. The museum, part of the 窪蹋勛圖厙, received the grant from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services.
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  • UAF celebrates Oktoberfest with two-day event

    September 08, 2026

    UAF will celebrate Oktoberfest Sept. 24-25 with German history, culture, live music, Bavarian food and activities.
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  • An illustration of an American cheetah

    Ancient 'cheetah' adapted to a fish-based diet to survive

    September 04, 2026

    When the now-extinct American cheetah was enduring the last ice age, a glaciated barrier broke up its territory into two distinct territories -- one in central North America and another much farther north. Analysis from the Alaska Stable Isotope Facility helped an international research team uncover how the ancient carnivore survived in those distinct regions. American cheetahs in the southern range hunted terrestrial prey like pronghorn antelope. Their counterparts in the Arctic adapted to their environment by making fish a staple of their diets.
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  • Wild plants with pink and green leaves growing among tall grasses and shrubs.

    Time capsule: Color guard

    September 04, 2026

    The weekend trip closed with a drive home through the Alaska Range, and the steep scenery around Isabel Pass looked as glorious as it usually does -- except for one little flaw. Here and there, like pale flames along the creek banks, willows gleamed golden in the evening light. On the river's gravel bars and beside the road, dwarf fireweed leaves had turned a sunburned purple.
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  • A group of children crowds against a wire fence to watch two reindeer in a green pasture as a staff member stands inside the enclosure, with autumn aspens visible in the background at the UAF Large Animal Research Station. One child holds a stuffed reindeer toy.

    LARS to host community event Sept. 12

    September 02, 2026

    The 窪蹋勛圖厙 Large Animal Research Station will celebrate the end of summer tour season with a Locals Day event on Saturday, Sept. 12, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
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