In late December, Dr. Elena Sparrow of the UArctic IPY Higher Education and Outreach Office at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) was pleased to help welcome Dr. Rhian Salmon, coordinator of education and outreach activities at the IPY International Programme Office in Cambridge, UK, as Rhian celebrated the new year with her first-ever trip to Alaska. Her two-and-a-half-week stay was filled with meetings, tours, and presentations, along with generous doses of Alaskan hospitality, as she became better acquainted with the IPY research and outreach activities in the state.

Most of Rhian's time was spent in Fairbanks, in Alaska's interior. There she had numerous meetings and discussions with researchers, administrators and other staff at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) who are involved in planning and carrying out IPY research and outreach activities in Alaska and beyond, including the staff of the University of Alaska IPY Outreach Office. She also met with representatives of the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States (ARCUS), the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (http://arcticportal.org/apecs/), the Cold Climate Housing Research Center (http://www.cchrc.org), University of Alaska Young Researchers Network (AYRN) and the Ninth International Conference on Permafrost (NICOP), which will be held in Fairbanks June 29 - July 3, 2008.

Other highlights of the trip included a tour of the U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering (CRREL) Laboratory's permafrost tunnel, and a relaxing visit to the nearby Chena Hot Springs resort.

A two-day trip north to Barrow, the northernmost community on the North American mainland and a place well-known for its connections to Arctic science, provided Rhian with another valuable Alaskan vantage point. There she gave an IPY presentation to members of the community, toured the Barrow Arctic Science Consortium (BASC) facilities, and met with BASC personnel and other local researchers.



Back in Fairbanks, the day before her departure, Rhian gave a second IPY presentation, this one at the International Arctic Research Center (IARC) at UAF. The temperature that day reached the magic point at which the Celsius and Fahrenheit scales agree: -40 degrees. Combined with the beautiful vista afforded by the IARC lecture room, which featured the majestic snow-covered Alaska Range in the distance, this made for a fitting end to what Rhian describes as an “incredibly informative, fun, and interesting” visit.

Hosts and sponsors of Rhian's trip to Alaska included Dr. Matt Nolan and family, Dr. Jenny Baeseman, Dr. Buck Sharpton, Dr. Larry Hinzman, and Dr. Elena Sparrow. Rhian is grateful to them and to the dozens of other people who generously shared their knowledge, experiences, plans and hospitality with her.

Phot credits: both photos taken by Matt Nolan
caption 1: Rhian is given a tour of the CRREL Permafrost Tunnel in Fairbanks, Alaska
caption 2: Rhian and Matt Nolan visit some field sites guided by BASC logistics assistant, Nok Acker, in Barrow, Alaska
In both images, she is wearing the Skookum IPY Parka.