2005 All Arctic Visiting Speaker Tours
If you have any questions regarding these tours, please contact avs@arcus.org.
Showing 9 speaker tours.
2005 Tours
Summary:
Alaskan author Charles Wohlforth traveled to California to present a series of slide lectures describing his book The Whale and the Supercomputer: On the Northern Front of Climate Change. During his talks, Wohlforth described the Iñupiat whaling tradition and how it was shaped by climate change 1,000 years ago. He also discussed how the community of Barrow, Alaska is adapting to environmental changes today.
Wohlforth began his tour with a public lecture at San Francisco State University. He then traveled to Monterey and lectured at the Monterey Institute of International Studies as part of the school's Distinguished Speakers Series. A reception followed his presentation. Next Wohlforth traveled to Burbank and appeared on Airtalk with Larry Mantle. This show is broadcast on 89.3 KPCC public radio in Pasadena. Lastly, Wohlforth spoke to high school students at the Ocean Research College Academy, which is an early college high school academy in Everett, Washington. The Whale and the Supercomputer was a summer reading assignment and Wohlforth's lecture gave students the opportunity to ask him questions about his experiences in Barrow. Wohlforth interacted with approximately 200 people on this tour.
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Dr. Susan Lobo is a Distinguished Visiting Scholar in American Indian Studies at the University of Arizona in Tucson. She has also taught at the University of California, Berkeley, where she was the coordinator of the Center for Latin American Studies, and at the University of California, Davis. In September 2005, Lobo presented multiple public lectures at universities in Copenhagen, Denmark and Nuuk, Greenland.
At Ilismatusarfik in Greenland, Dr. Lobo presented "American Indians and the Urban Experience" focusing on demographics of urban migration, mobility patterns within cities and return migration to homelands, the role of community-based organizations, and the leadership of women in urban Native community-building. She also lectured on "Inuit in Urban Spaces" discussing identity and gender roles, networks of relatedness, and contemporary means of creating linkages between communities. Dr. Lobo met with students and faculty at Ilismatusarfik to discuss mutual interests in current and ongoing research regarding Native peoples' urbanization and modernization.
While in Copenhagen, Dr. Lobo gave a talk on "Urban American Indian Community-building" giving participants background on American Indian migration to urban areas since the 1950s. She also discussed the residence patterns in cities, including dispersed households, extended families, and the role of building alliance networks and community-based organizations. Emphasis was placed on contemporary issues and urban Indian community dynamics.
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Presentations
Todd Sformo is a graduate student at University of Alaska Fairbanks in the labs of Drs. Brian Barnes (UAF) and Jack Duman (University of Notre Dame). His research interests lie in how high latitude insects face the challenge of the extreme cold.
In late June, Sformo lectured at the Arctic Interagency Visitor Center in Coldfoot, Alaska on the antifreeze proteins of arctic insects. The event was open to the public and the audience included travelers from the U.S. and around the world as well as residents from nearby communities. Because he has conducted much of his research in this area, Sformo was happy to present his findings at the visitor center to show his gratitude to the Wiseman community for their help in his project.
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Presentations
Dr. Ming-Ko Woo is a professor in the School of Geography and Geology at McMaster University in Canada. He is an internationally respected scientist and currently leads the Mackenzie GEWEX (Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment) Study that investigates the cold climate processes.
In late June, Dr. Woo traveled to the University of Alaska Southeast where he presented a lecture on the "Consequences of Climate Change and Variability for Northern Hydrology" and participated in informal discussion sessions with students, faculty, and the public. While in Juneau, he was also interviewed by a local newspaper.
Dr. Woo then traveled to the University of Alaska Fairbanks where he presented seminars on the "Research Contribution of the Mackenzie GEWEX Study to Cold Region Hydrology" and on the "Storage, Threshold, and Hydrological Connectivity in the Cold Region." Dr. Woo also visited with scientists at the Geophysical Institute, the International Arctic Research Center, and the Water and Environmental Research Center at UAF to discuss collaborative research on arctic climate and hydrology.
For the last part of his tour, Dr. Woo traveled to Denali Park where he presented a public lecture at the Denali Foundation as part of the Community Series Program.
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In June of 2005, Dr. Syndonia Bret-Harte presented a lecture at the Arctic Interagency Visitor Center in Coldfoot, Alaska. The center is located about halfway between Fairbanks and Prudhoe Bay on the Dalton Highway. Dr. Bret-Harte is conducting research at Toolik Field Station (TFS), an internationally recognized arctic research site located approximately 100 miles north of the visitor center, and she discussed her work on tundra plants and climate change. The event was open to the public and the audience was primarily composed of residents from the nearby communities of Coldfoot and Wiseman.
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Presentations
Dr. Rolf Gradinger from the School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences at the University of Alaska Fairbanks participated in a climate change forum at the Wallace Stegner Center at the San Francisco Public Library in early June of 2005. As part of a panel discussion, Dr. Gradinger talked about the potential impacts of climate change with an emphasis on the Arctic. The event was open to the general public and the media. Michael Vassey from the Department of Environmental Studies at San Francisco State University moderated the event.
Speakers and topics included:
Stephen Schneider, Stanford University
Overview of climate change science and current projections
Rolf Gradinger, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Potential impacts of climate change with an emphasis on the Arctic
Wil Burns, University of Redlands
International and US responses to climate change
Daniel Kammen, University of California-Berkeley
Long-term solutions
Summary:
n March 2005, Dr. Daqing Yang, an associate research professor at the Water and Environmental Research Center, Institute of Northern Engineering, University of Alaska Fairbanks, traveled to Ontario to present seminars at the Meteorological Service of Canada (MSC), York University, and Wilfrid Laurier University.
Yang is an internationally respected scientist with a strong publication record in the measurement of solid precipitation, and the hydrology of large Arctic basins. Both of these issues are priority areas of research both within the Meteorological Service of Canada, and in numerous major Canadian universities in the greater Toronto area.
Over 80 participants including scientists at the MSC, university faculty, undergraduate and graduate students benefited from interacting with Yang. The university lectures were structured to foster an informal exchange of ideas between Dr. Yang and graduate students. In addition to the seminars and lectures, Yang will spent time at the MSC office in Downsview continuing collaborative research on precipitation measurement in the Arctic with MSC personnel.
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Presentations
Elana Wilson, a Ph.D. student at the Scott Polar Research Institute currently researching political development in the circumpolar north, traveled to Vermont in late January and early February 2005. During her visit, Wilson presented lectures at Dartmouth and the Center for Northern Studies (CNS) at Sterling College about nationalism, citizenship, and gender in Nunavut. She met with CNS faculty to discuss curriculum content and contributed to classroom discussions on Harpoon of the Hunter written by Markoosie and the film Nanook of the North. In an "Introduction to the North" class with first- and second-year students, Wilson discussed ideas of community development in the circumpolar North and ways in which students can research community and native problems locally. Additionally, Elana visited third-year students to discuss the research process and their ideas for final projects. As part of the tour, Elana and her host compiled information on excursions you can take to learn about indigenous peoples and the Arctic.
These resources are available at: http://www.sterlingcollege.edu/CNS/events.htm
Summary:
In early January 2005, Alaskan author Charles Wohlforth once again participated in the Arctic Visiting Speakers' Program. For this tour, Wohlforth traveled to San Diego and presented a public lecture during the opening session of the Annual Meeting of the American Meteorology Society. One of the primary themes of the meeting was "Living in the Coastal Zone" and Wohlforth aptly illustrated his experiences in native villages of northern Alaska where lifestyles are changing due to the shifting Arctic environment .
He also participated in WeatherFest, an interactive science and weather fair open to the public and geared especially toward K-12 students. WeatherFest featured exhibits on meteorology, oceanography, and other related sciences. Overall, Wohlforth reached nearly 300 participants providing an opportunity to better understand high-latitude climate change and its impact on the indigenous Alaskan population.