March 17, 2022, by Alex McCarrel

This week, the Sitka Sound Science Center was honored to host our first Science Advisory Committee meeting. The Science Advisory Committee is made up of five experts in a variety of scientific fields, from geology to environmental social science, to help guide research at SSSC in exciting directions.

Committee members include Thomas Thornton, the Director of Alaska Coastal Rainforest Center & Professor of Environment and Society at the University of Alaska Southeast who specializes in local traditional knowledge, Pete Raimondi, a Professor of Ecology at the University of Santa Cruz who works primarily in kelp forests and rocky intertidal, Ginny Eckert, a Fisheries Professor for the University of Alaska Fairbanks in Juneau and the Director of Alaska Sea Grant, Josh Roering, a Professor and Department Head of Earth Sciences at the University of Oregon who specializes in geomorphology of landslides and other natural hazards, and Colleen Duncan, an Associate Professor of Pathology in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology at Colorado State University who investigates disease in a wide range of domestic and wild animals.

While in Sitka, the Science Advisory Committee met with our Research Team to discuss the wide breathe of research happening at SSSC, as well as ways to draw from their experience and expertise to enhance these projects. The committee members had the wonderful opportunity to enjoy lunch with SSSC’s Board of Directors and Tribal Liaison, Daanax.ils’eik (Chuck Miller), to discuss their potential roles in guiding research. An informative presentation by the Sitka Tribe of Alaska’s Resource Protection Director Jeff Feldpausch was given, covering research policies, ongoing research projects at the Tribe, and possible avenues for collaboration. Next we talked with Raymond Paddock from The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska. He described the Central Council’s efforts to develop the Tribal Research Consortium, a regional research entity. Finally, the Science Advisory Committee collaborated on ways to promote research at SSSC in the future. Everyone at the Sitka Sound Science Center is thrilled to have such a knowledgeable team of scientists helping guide research for years to come and we look forward to welcoming them in Sitka again!