°®ÎÛ´«Ã½ photo by Leif Van Cise. Lizzie Hartman and Sean Walklin plate their final meal of the day in the °®ÎÛ´«Ã½ Community and Technical College culinary arts kitchen at the Hutchison Center on Aug. 24, 2023.

Fairbanks chef competes before millions

By Kristin Summerlin

Lizzie Hartman found joy in cooking and sharing while a °®ÎÛ´«Ã½ Community and Technical College culinary student. That carried her all the way to the MasterChef competition.

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Yukon River float participants and instructor Bathsheba Demuth of Brown University enjoy an evening campfire at their campsite on the sandbar. Photo by Dirk Rohrbach.

Creating climate scholars

By Katie Straub

A unique program at UAF’s Honors College draws hundreds of undergraduates to study climate change — and do something about it.

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Photo by Julie Stricker. Jennifer Shanly Boll holds a photo of her grandfather John Shanly, the first graduate from what is today the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She toured the university and visited a variety of agriculture programs, including the Georgeson Botanical Garden, on Aug. 1, 2023.

A homecoming a century in the making

By Julie Stricker

The granddaughter of John Shanly, the first University of Alaska graduate, visited campus in summer 2023, 100 years after his graduation.

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Mount Edgecumbe volcano, located about 10 miles across Sitka Sound from the city of Sitka, reawakened in early 2022. The volcano is shown in this June 3, 2023, photograph. °®ÎÛ´«Ã½ photo by JR Ancheta.

Revealing Mount Edgecumbe

By Rod Boyce

Led by °®ÎÛ´«Ã½ scientists, an international team looks high and low to answer questions about the reawakened volcano.

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°®ÎÛ´«Ã½ photo by Eric Engman. °®ÎÛ´«Ã½ alumni stop by the Usibelli Building atrium to visit after lunch and meet Yogi, the °®ÎÛ´«Ã½ Police Department’s new K9 officer, during the annual Nanook Rendezvous alumni reunion Campus Day on the Troth Yeddha’ Campus July 14, 2023.

Nanook Rendezvous brings alumni home

By Felicia Burud

The annual reunion honors accomplished alumni and reconnects members of all past classes with each other and their alma mater.

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Photo by Taryn Lopez. Pavlof Volcano degasses in July 2017.

Research roundup

°®ÎÛ´«Ã½ scientists investigate mineral deposits, volcano emissions, mammoth history and more, leading innovative programs and inquiries that draw millions of dollars to Alaska.

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Participants of °®ÎÛ´«Ã½'s 2023 Golden Days Parade march gather for a group photo before walking through downtown Fairbanks. °®ÎÛ´«Ã½ photo by Leif Van Cise.

Class notes and in memoriam

See what UAF’s alumni have been doing, and remember those no longer with us.

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Helping rural students belong, across two generations

From the editor

By Theresa Bakker

The fall 2023 edition of Aurora magazine marks several milestones.

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