Technology of the Arctic: Technical Program and Resources

 

Please check the Technical Program details, and access Technical Resources to prepare for the workshop.

 

Technical Program

Friday, 3 May. Meeting held at the University of Alaska Anchorage

The first day focuses on energy in the Arctic: current mix, transition needs and options, infrastructure issues, discovery of current research programs, and brainstorming on the contributions that IEEE can make to help close existing gaps between current and needed energy technologies in the context of climate change.

Meeting Room: EIB 413

AM Speakers:

  • Pr. Mohammad Heidari, Michael Lindemann and Kathleen DeMichele, U. Alaska Anchorage – “Foundations for Improving Resilience in the Energy Sector against Wildfires on Alaskan Lands (FIREWALL)”
  • Pr. Claudio Cañizares, U. Waterloo, Canada – “Micro-Grid Technologies for Remote Arctic Areas”
  • Charlie Vartanian, Sandia National Labs – “Technologies for Diesel Use Reduction in Non-grid-Connected Communities”
  • Michelle Wilber, Alaska Center for Energy and Power – “What do we know about Electric Vehicles, Cold Weather and People from Research in Alaska?”

PowerLab UAA

PM Lab Visits:

  • Power and Energy Lab – Dr. Mohammad Heidari
  • Fluid Mechanics Lab – Dr. Thomas Ravens
  • ConocoPhillips Structures Testing Lab – Dr. Scott Hamel
  • Jan van de Top Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Lab – Dr. Getu Hailu

Saturday, 4 May. Meeting held at the Lakefront Anchorage Hotel

The second day of the workshop focuses on the characterization, measurements, and effects of climate change on the Arctic environment and local populations. Questions surrounding technologies and methods for modelling the melting of the permafrost, for example, are of particular interest. Discussions will address new technology needs, and the contributions that IEEE working groups could make to help advance the state of the art.

Meeting Room: Lake Spenard

Speakers:

  • Nolan Willis, P.E., IEEE Section Chair, Anchorage, AK – “Adaptations and Opportunities”
  • Jennifer Rachels, U. Alaska Anchorage – “Climate Justice and the Impact of Climate Change in Alaska’s rural and remote villages”
  • Pr. Witold Kinsner, U. Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada – “Satellite Data Communications, Collection, and Teleoperations for the Arctic”
  • Aimie Survant, Alaska Village Electric Association – “Design and Operation of Remote Arctic Microgrids”
  • Pr. Caixia Wang, U. Alaska Anchorage – Remote Sensing Technologies for the Arctic
  • Robert Seitz, P.E., Anchorage AK – “Monitoring for Climate Change Impacts”

 

Resources

We encourage you to check the following resources prior to the start of the workshop. Also, let us know if you have other resources you think should be added to this list!

IEEE Resources and Upcoming Events

  • The VEDA (Visualization, Exploration, and Data Analysis) IEEE Dashboard: a scalable and interactive system in the cloud for science data. Includes NASA datasets. Sponsored by the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (GRSS)
  • DataPort: IEEE’s secure and comprehensive data platform that enables users to upload datasets and access thousands of scientific datasets.
  • The 2024 NIST/IEEE Conference on Computational Imaging Using Synthetic Apertures (2024 IEEE CISA). 20-23 May 2024, Boulder, Colorado, USA.
  • The IEEE Xplore® Digital Library, including the IEEE Climate Change Collection of nearly 25,000 scientific references on climate change.

Presentations and Reports

  • “Tracking Permafrost Landscape Dynamics in a Rapidly Warming Landscape” by Dr. Ingmar Nitze, Wegener Institute (Link)
  • “Statewide Threat Assessment: Identification of Threats from Erosion, Flooding, and Thawing Permafrost in Remote Alaska Communities” Denali Commission Report (PDF, 5 MB)

Communities

  • ArcticNet Canada’s network of Centres of Excellence bringing together scientists, engineers and other professionals in the human health, natural and social sciences with partners from Inuit organizations, northern communities, federal and provincial agencies and the private sector to study the impacts of climate and socio-economic change in the Canadian North.
  • ARCUS The Arctic Research Consortium of the United States, bridges Arctic research across organizations, disciplines, geographies, sectors, knowledge systems, and cultures, and has been serving a globally connected, diverse Arctic research community since 1988.
  • The University of Alaska System and the UA Anchorage research programs