News
  • A two-stage NASA Black Brant IX sounding rocket launches from Poker Flat Research Range on Oct. 21, 2026, carrying an experiment to study how cosmic dust from dying stars forms. The rocket’s brilliant white exhaust trail rises from the brightly illuminated launch site through the dark sky, lighting up low clouds above the snow-covered hills and forest.

    Poker Flat launches two NASA rockets in three days

    October 24, 2026

    Experiments on two rockets that launched into the night from Poker Flat Research Range on Monday and Wednesday will reveal more about how stars influence our galaxy. A NASA mission to study how cosmic dust from dying stars forms launched from Poker Flat at 9:30 p.m. Wednesday. A University of Colorado Boulder mission to learn more about dying stars launched at about 10:30 p.m. Monday.

  • This 2024 painting by Ayona-Reily Dixon, created with acrylic and medium on canvas, is titled “Esoteric.†Image courtesy of Ayona-Reily Dixon

    Art exhibition explores home, land

    October 23, 2026

    Art exhibition "Nunaillisi AÅ‹naq" by Ayona-Reily Dixon explores connections between land, body and home at UAF.

  • Water spills from a hydroelectric facility at the head of an inlet.

    New book highlights ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥'s rural energy innovators

    October 21, 2026

    The ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ Center for Energy and Power at the ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ will host a free event celebrating the launch of "ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥'s Microgrid Innovators," a new book about the people and communities shaping ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥'s energy future.

  • The Dumbbell Nebula, also known as Messier 27, glows in infrared light in this August 2011 image from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope. A broad, irregular cloud of green, yellow and orange gas fills the center, surrounded by wispy red clouds against the blackness of space. Hundreds of bright blue-white stars are scattered throughout the image.

    Two rockets set to launch from Poker Flat Research Range

    October 16, 2026

    Two sounding rockets will launch from Poker Flat Research Range as early as next week on separate missions studying some of the smallest particles in space and the deaths of stars.

  • A person in a darkened room gestures to sunlit barley stalks.

    Moving beyond ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ Grown

    October 16, 2026

    Although I am a lover of Fairbanks, I am not particularly in love with mid-October Fairbanks. Fall's yellow, shimmering leaves are now browning and dissolving underfoot, and my garden is crisped with old tomato vines and a few intrepid kale leaves, still reaching for the weakening sun.

News
  • A two-stage NASA Black Brant IX sounding rocket launches from Poker Flat Research Range on Oct. 21, 2026, carrying an experiment to study how cosmic dust from dying stars forms. The rocket’s brilliant white exhaust trail rises from the brightly illuminated launch site through the dark sky, lighting up low clouds above the snow-covered hills and forest.

    Poker Flat launches two NASA rockets in three days

    October 23, 2026

    Experiments on two rockets that launched into the night from Poker Flat Research Range on Monday and Wednesday will reveal more about how stars influence our galaxy. A NASA mission to study how cosmic dust from dying stars forms launched from Poker Flat at 9:30 p.m. Wednesday. A University of Colorado Boulder mission to learn more about dying stars launched at about 10:30 p.m. Monday.

  • This 2024 painting by Ayona-Reily Dixon, created with acrylic and medium on canvas, is titled “Esoteric.†Image courtesy of Ayona-Reily Dixon

    Art exhibition explores home, land

    October 23, 2026

    Art exhibition "Nunaillisi AÅ‹naq" by Ayona-Reily Dixon explores connections between land, body and home at UAF.

  • UAF names summer 2026 honors students

    October 22, 2026

    The ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ has announced the students named to the deans' and chancellor's lists for the summer 2026 semester. The lists recognize students' outstanding academic achievements.

  • Water spills from a hydroelectric facility at the head of an inlet.

    New book highlights ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥'s rural energy innovators

    October 21, 2026

    The ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ Center for Energy and Power at the ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ will host a free event celebrating the launch of "ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥'s Microgrid Innovators," a new book about the people and communities shaping ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥'s energy future.

  • The Dumbbell Nebula, also known as Messier 27, glows in infrared light in this August 2011 image from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope. A broad, irregular cloud of green, yellow and orange gas fills the center, surrounded by wispy red clouds against the blackness of space. Hundreds of bright blue-white stars are scattered throughout the image.

    Two rockets set to launch from Poker Flat Research Range

    October 16, 2026

    Two sounding rockets will launch from Poker Flat Research Range as early as next week on separate missions studying some of the smallest particles in space and the deaths of stars.

  • A person in a darkened room gestures to sunlit barley stalks.

    Moving beyond ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ Grown

    October 15, 2026

    Although I am a lover of Fairbanks, I am not particularly in love with mid-October Fairbanks. Fall's yellow, shimmering leaves are now browning and dissolving underfoot, and my garden is crisped with old tomato vines and a few intrepid kale leaves, still reaching for the weakening sun.

  • A person is talking to a group of people at a data center.

    New guide helps ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ns shape data center conversations

    October 14, 2026

    As data centers and artificial intelligence raise new questions about energy, water, land, infrastructure, jobs and community priorities across ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥, a new report offers a different way to approach the conversation.

  • Close-up of a European green crab with dark green and yellow mottled shell held in two hands outdoors, showing its claws, eyes, and textured carapace.

    Registration opens for 2026 ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ Invasive Species Workshop

    October 13, 2026

    The 2026 ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ Invasive Species Workshop, a forum for land and invasive species managers and scientists to discuss current issues, will be held October 27-29, 2026, in Juneau.

  • A group of people smiling and standing on a docked metal boat in the rain.

    Arctic LENS connects NASA science with community-based monitoring

    October 12, 2026

    New funding will expand a 30-year community-based monitoring and education outreach program across ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥, helping bridge local observations with learning from NASA Earth science missions.

  • Michael A. Hill

    Historian examines how ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ shaped American empire

    October 09, 2026

    Historian Michael A. Hill, speaking on Oct. 22 at the ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥, will explore how a 1905 Supreme Court decision in an ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ case altered America.

  • Tessa Hulls

    Midnight Sun Visiting Writers Series announces fall 2026 lineup

    October 09, 2026

    UAF presents the fall 2026 Midnight Sun Visiting Writers Series featuring free public readings by renowned authors.

  • A black dog with some white markings sits in front of a birch tree with yellow leaves on the ground.

    Time capsule: Hardwood, softwood, fuelwood

    October 09, 2026

    After finally cleaning my stovepipe last weekend, it feels like woodstove season at my cabin can officially (and safely) begin. Carla Helfferich wrote this wood power-focused ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ Science Forum column on Oct. 3, 1990.

  • Srijan Aggarwal, UAF professor of environmental engineering, works with laboratory equipment used in his research on critical mineral recovery. Aggarwal is part of a $6 million National Science Foundation collaboration investigating how biological processes and artificial intelligence can improve the recovery of rare earth elements from waste materials.

    UAF joins $6M NSF critical minerals effort

    October 05, 2026

    UAF researchers are joining a four-year, $6 million National Science Foundation effort to explore how microorganisms and artificial intelligence can improve the recovery of critical minerals from coal waste.

  • New interactive ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ tsunami hazard map helps communities prepare

    October 02, 2026

    A new and interactive tsunami hazards tool created by the ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ Earthquake Center brings evacuation information, hazard maps and other community-specific resources into a single online location.

  • A fox with a snowshoe hare in its mouth walks across a snowy landscape

    Time capsule: The secret life of a red fox family

    October 01, 2026

    At the start of every walk, my dogs try to sneak away to "fox town," a fox den on the other side of the pond near my cabin, and we often see the adult foxes trotting through the neighborhood. Hearing one of them bark the other evening, I was reminded of this March 26, 2020, story by Ned Rozell. He recently reported that foxes still use the den, but did not occupy it in summer 2026.

  • Doctoral student Morakinyo Labiran stands at ACUASI’s ice tower beside his planned test item, a small rotor assembly mounted on metal rails and surrounded by wiring. He wears a heavy blue winter coat and gloves inside the translucent plastic-lined, scaffold-supported enclosure.

    Drone research gets a lift from UAF ice tower

    September 30, 2026

    The ice tower of the ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration, ACUASI, at the ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ Geophysical Institute is where research into wintertime drone flight happens.

  • Gala guests raise UAF polar bear-shaped bidding paddles during a live auction, with two emcees visible on a blue and gold illuminated stage in the background.

    $330,000 raised at 2026 Blue & Gold celebration

    September 28, 2026

    Donors and partners at Saturday's Blue & Gold Celebration raised $330,000 to support scholarships and other programs at the ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥, topping last year's total by more than $15,000.

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Aurora

A magazine for alumni and friends of the ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ | Fall 2026

A boat travels past fish camps on the shore of Kangirlvar Bay near the Nelson Island village of Toksook Bay in June 2026.

Service beyond the storm: University volunteers help rebuild a western ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ community after Typhoon Halong
John and Jane Aspnes pose with their smooth-coated collies, from left, Piper, Skye and Moqui, at the Georgeson Botanical Garden at UAF in 2017. The dogs were the last three of the seven they trained and handled while members of PAWS Search and Rescue in Fairbanks for 32 years.

John and Jane Aspnes endow two professorships
People gather at the UA Museum of the North for the 2026 Nanook Rendezvous alumni awards ceremony on July 16, 2026.

Nanooks come home