Career paths
Paths to the Arctic converge in coproduction
“A lot of what I’ve learned is the academic history of exploitation of communities in the Arctic. Iʼm trying to teach myself as much as I can such that when I’m in a position that I am leading a project, that I have input to make sure that things are done correctly” -Margaret Anamaq Rudolf
Read MoreTranslating and curating climate data for everyday use
“I would encourage people to not despair in this prospect of an unknowable climate future. We have tools, good tools, to get an idea of what might be coming.”
-Charlie Parr
Deciphering the many facets of weather
“Come here and find out that million-acre years are pretty common and they’re dealt as extreme years, but in more recent years, you wind up seeing more and more million acres burned.” -Jacob Coffey
Read MoreSupercomputer as stepping stone
“I was always interested in technology, ever since I was a little kid. I remember the first computer my dad bought us was an old Compaq and he thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread.”
-Bob Torgerson
Alaska Weather Voices – Episode 4: Reflections
This podcast miniseries focuses on the life and career of Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy (ACCAP)’s climate specialist, Rick Thoman. This podcast, hosted by Liz Carter, is made by ACCAP in partnership with Alaska Voices. In this episode Rick Thoman shares lessons learned throughout his time in Alaska. He offers advice on how to build trust and serve rural communities.
“Ultimately I feel like I’ve made a difference in a positive way and that’s a good feeling when you’re in your 60s … but y’know most of my career is behind me and to think I’ve made a positive difference is an important feeling for me.” – Rick Thoman
Read MoreAlaska Weather Voices – Episode 3: Successes
This podcast miniseries focuses on the life and career of Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy (ACCAP)’s climate specialist, Rick Thoman. This podcast, hosted by Liz Carter, is made by ACCAP in partnership with Alaska Voices. In this episode Rick Thoman shares key career accomplishments, and several collaborators weigh in on what makes Rick such a trusted source of climate information in Alaska. The episode includes conservations with Gay Sheffield (University of Alaska Fairbanks, Bering Strait Sea Grant Agent), Diana Haecker (Nome Nugget, editor), Ed Plumb (National Weather Service, marine and coastal flood program manager), and Uma Bhatt (University of Alaska Fairbanks, professor of atmospheric sciences).
“There’s people with lots of questions. And people know for the weather and storms, everyone gets a service. You can pick up the paper, there’s Rick Thoman. Facebook, there he is. And we know that takes time.” – Gay Sheffield
Read MoreAlaska Weather Voices – Episode 2: Career
This podcast miniseries focuses on the life and career of Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy (ACCAP)’s climate specialist, Rick Thoman. This podcast, hosted by Liz Carter, is made by ACCAP in partnership with Alaska Voices. In this episode Rick Thoman outlines the bulk of his career thus far, covering his time at the National Weather Service in Nome and Fairbanks as well as his transition to working for ACCAP in 2018. The episode delves in on defining moments that set the trajectory for his career and approach working with Alaska communications.
“Nome was my very first lesson in listening to what’s important to people as far as weather and climate impacts and the kinds of information that they need.” –Rick Thoman
Read MoreAlaska Weather Voices – Episode 1: Origins
This podcast miniseries focuses on the life and career of Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy (ACCAP)’s climate specialist, Rick Thoman. This podcast, hosted by Liz Carter, is made by ACCAP in partnership with Alaska Voices. In this episode Rick Thoman describes how he came to love weather, climate and Alaska. Starting in childhood, the episode follows Rick from elementary school projects on Alaska and tracking the weather in Pennsylvania to his first Alaska trip in 1986 that launched his weather and climate career.
“I’ve been interested in weather and climate from my earliest memories. As a child, probably late elementary school, junior high school age, every morning I would get up and I would look at the temperature on the thermometer that was outside my bedroom window. And I would write it down and I would plot it on a piece of graph paper.” – Rick Thoman
Read MoreLightning, wildfires, and Martian ice
“We asked them if they could tailor their models from the Martian landscape to Earth permafrost landscapes and from there we developed some early calculations of impacts of climate change on permafrost.” – Cathy Wilson
Read MoreLand stewardship in a changing world
“Venetie at one time in the 40s and 50s was a major gardening center and they would trade potatoes and carrots, things like that, they would go down and trade for salmon on the Yukon and supply vegetables and such for the steam boats.” – Lance Whitwell
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