Discovering Alaska: 30 Years of Insights from the Best Job in Science Writing

Last week, I was having coffee with a cab driver who also writes. He said my job was “the best job in Alaska.” After a moment, I had to agree.

It’s been a long journey since October 25, 1994, when I wrote my first piece for the Alaska Science Forum about little brown bats. The forum shares weekly stories from the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute with news outlets and email subscribers. Founded in the late 1940s, this institute is home to researchers studying everything from auroras and earthquakes to glaciers and coastal erosion.

The Alaska Science Forum isn’t new. In 1976, researcher Neil Davis recognized a gap between scientific progress and public understanding. He then wrote the first forum piece about Fairbanks’ expansion across the Tanana River. Ever since, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner has published these stories weekly for nearly 50 years.

After finishing my seasonal work as a park ranger in 1994, I saw a job listing in that same newspaper and applied. I took over from Carla Helfferich, whose writing always made me feel smarter. She had replaced Sue Ann Bowling, a pioneering female scientist at the Geophysical Institute.

The institute has financially supported the Alaska Science Forum for decades, providing free, vetted content for various media outlets. Thanks to this backing, I have written around 1,500 stories, even through tough times when many newspapers closed down.

When I graduated, I didn’t foresee the digital shift in media. Now, I feel grateful for that job offer—it led me to a stable writing career. I’ve tried to bring a fresh perspective to the column, focusing on exploration and inquiry.

I absolutely love weeks when I travel with scientists to new places. Whether I’m digging holes or carrying equipment, I also make sure their research gets published. In the past three decades, I’ve tagged along on 86 field trips. These experiences have taken me on trucks, floatplanes, snowmachines, and research ships across Alaska. Some might say it affects my objectivity, but I wouldn’t trade those moments for anything, including standing near the peak of Denali or enjoying the view from a Shinto shrine in Kiska.

This isn’t a retirement note, but I do want to share a couple of things. I’m scheduled to give a public lecture soon. As the first speaker for the Geophysical Institute’s Science for Alaska series, I’ll present “Aleutians to Arctic Coast: Covering Alaska Science for 30 Years” on Tuesday, February 4, at 7 p.m. in UAF’s Schaible Auditorium. You can also catch it on Zoom or Facebook Live.