Welcome to Alaska NSF EPSCoR
Alaska NSF EPSCoR improves Alaska's scientific capacity by engaging in research projects supported through National Science Foundation and state funds. EPSCoR is in the second year of "Fire and Ice," a five-year project to study climate-driven changes to Alaskan wildfire regimes and coastal ecosystems. For more information check out one-page summaries of each component of the program: Boreal Fires; Coastal Margins; and Diversity, Education and Workforce Development. You can also view posters, presentations and publications from Fire and ice researchers.
The national NSF EPSCoR organization also supports Alaska through other funding streams. Check out this small poster for more information on the timeline and structure of NSF EPSCoR in Alaska.
EPSCoR news
2021 Seed Grant Applications
Alaska NSF EPSCoR is pleased to announce the availability of seed grants for UA faculty and students to conduct research with the potential to expand the depth and breadth of Fire & Ice efforts. 2021 seed grants will be awarded in two categories: Faculty Research Seed Grants of up to $20,000 each, and Student Research Seed Grants of up to $4,000 each.
For more information see our award announcement and attend our Seed Grants Methods and Approaches Workshop (see opposite column). Application materials are available on our awards page. The deadline for 2021 awards is 5 PM AKST on October 12, 2020, and awards will be announced by October 30.
Solstice Game Jam winners
Research Workspace videos
We've posted 5 videos on our YouTube channel that explain how to use various facets of the Research Workspace, the depository for Fire and Ice data. Videos include Exploring the Projects Tab; Help documents and feedback; How to manage users; The EPSCoR metadata template; and Using metadata templates.
Fire and Ice data portal is online
The Fire and Ice project's new legacy data portal is now live. The portal provides access to datasets and data projects collected by Fire and Ice researchers, as well as datasets from related projects and from previous EPSCoR endeavors.
EPSCoR videos and highlights
We've been busy producing videos and PDF highlights about the Fire and Ice project.
Recent videos include an overview of the "Girls on Water" program; an absorbing animated introduction to hyperspectral remote sensing (source of the image above); a 360-degree video tour of the Kasitsna Bay Lab; a sampler of some of our drone footage of this summer's fieldwork; and timelapse video of Grewingk Glacier Lake and the Jakalof River produced by our Coastal Margins "Stream Team."
We've also produced our first set of PDF highlights from the Fire and ice project.
Seed Grant Workshop
To learn more about our program of 2021 seed grants, please attend our Seed Grants Methods and Approaches Workshop, which will be held August 20 from 2-4:30 PM. The event will include information on the application process as well as discussions by project leads about which types of projects will fit best within Fire & Ice research. The workshop will be held via Zoom; click on the link to register and we'll send you a confirmation email with info on joining the meeting.
Travel Awards delayed
Due to COVID restrictions and cancellations, EPSCoR will not offer any travel funding for the fall 2020 semester. We hope to be able to offer awards for the spring 2021 semester; check back here for more details.
"Phase 0" winners
We're pleased to announce this year’s recipients of EPSCoR-supported “Phase 0” grant funding from the Alaska Technology Research and Development Center (Alaska TREND). This funding supports Alaskan entrepreneurs planning to apply for federal startup funds. Recipients are:
- Barati Medical, LLC (pictured: founder Bahareh Barati), a biotechnology company developing an innovative instrument to monitor brain function and diseases in lab animals.
- Deeptree, Inc., a digital risk management firm that uses machine learning to provide real-time cybersecurity detection and response.
- BeadedStream LLC, which is developing an early-warning permafrost sensor that can be produced at a commercial scale.
- GRAYSTAR Pacific Seafood, Ltd., which provides technical support in all aspects of fisheries, including biology, ecology, management, harvesting, processing, and quality assurance.
Logo GIFs
Our Data Visualization Specialist Cassidy Phillips turned the Fire and Ice and Alaska EPSCoR logos into a pair of great GIFs. Feel free to download. He also made a GIF of the logos for Vis and Dev Space.
