Research at UAF

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America's Arctic research university

UAF is the principal research university for the statewide University of Alaska system.
Our research engages undergraduate and graduate students so they gain skills and knowledge to become tomorrow's leaders.

By the numbers

$246.3 million

in research expenditures for 2024

17,473

published journal articles

Triple crown status

Land, Sea, and Space Grant institution

News

Three bundled researchers work at a snow-covered permafrost coring site in a boreal forest near Fairbanks under a bright, low winter sun. From left, Louise Farquharson of the ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Geophysical Institute, and Shannon Hibbard and Jennifer Kielhofer, both of the Desert Research Institute, operate coring equipment beside a dug trench, with shovels, packs and field gear spread across the snow in the Goldstream Creek area on April 13, 2026.

May 04

Drilling for a permafrost core in the Goldstream Valley of Fairbanks on this late-March day first required creation of a workspace. The project is one of many efforts to understand how people can adapt to, and plan for, a warming Arctic.

A trail of brown bear tracks, with toes pointing toward the photographer, dimples the gray sand between cobbles on a beach. In the background, the sun sets over the surf and a mountain range. A man walks along the beach horizon under the mountains.

May 01

The deadline has been my quietly relentless muse for the last 30 years. She used to give me headaches. But then I met her so many times that the headaches stopped.

The payload section of the FOXSI-5 mission rests on a wheeled support frame inside the payload assembly building at Poker Flat Research Range on April 13, 2026. The cylindrical instrument, wrapped partly in gold thermal insulation, is surrounded by equipment crates and technicians preparing it for flight. The NASA sounding rocket carrying the payload is scheduled to launch in early May.

Apr 30

The fifth flight of a NASA-led mission using X-rays to learn more about the sun is scheduled for a daytime launch from Poker Flat Research Range during the first two weeks of May.

Events

Arctic Research Open House participants on UAF's West Ridge outside the Geophysical Institute and International Arctic Research Center
Arctic Research Open House

Thursday, May 14, 2026
UAF West Ridge

Join UAF Research for an inspiring day on West Ridge at Troth Yeddha' for the Arctic Research Open House on Thursday, May 14, from 4–7 p.m. This annual event is hosted by the UAF Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research.

From Fairbanks roots, UAF research branches across science, engineering, and creativity, sprouting new solutions for Alaska and the Arctic. You’ll meet the researchers behind the work and see how UAF research shows up in your community. Each stop gives you something real to engage with, from lab experiments to field campaigns, all rooted in solving problems faced by you and fellow Alaskans. To celebrate the Fairbanks community and the work happening across campus, the UAF Vice Chancellor for Research will host a free ice cream social.

Access to events and parking will be FREE across West Ridge. All ages are encouraged for this free event, minors must be accompanied by an adult. For more information, or to make an accommodation request at least five days in advance of this event, , email UAF-Research@alaska.edu or call 907-474-6000.

Research calendar

 

Research enterprise

UAF does high-quality research in a large number of fields. We're one of only a handful of institutions in the country that can claim the triple crown status of Land, Sea and Space Grant Institution. 

Achieving R1 at UAF

With more than $200 million in research activity each year, the University of Alaska Fairbanks is Alaska's research university. We are ready to step up to R1 and join the top 4% of research universities in the United States.