Evening at Egan
Evening at Egan
Fall 2020
New: Online for 2020! Join us for Evening at Egan, the annual UAS lecture series held each fall.
Watch the live-streamed presentations with Zoom; a great way to fully participate and ask questions to our expert presenters. (Select events will also be recorded and posted on the UAS YouTube Channel for future viewing.)
To attend a lecture, select the buttons below. A confirmation email will be sent to you with information on how to join the Zoom session.
Schedule of Events

Heather Lende, Alaskan Author
Find the Good: Unexpected Life Lessons from a Small-Town Obituary Writer
Time: 7:00 p.m.
As the obituary writer in a spectacularly beautiful but often dangerous spit of land in Alaska, Heather Lende knows something about last words and lives well lived. Now she’s distilled what she’s learned about how to live a more exhilarating and meaningful life into three words: find the good. It’s that simple—and that hard.

Derek Sikes, Curator of Insects and Professor of Entomology
Climate Change Impacts on Insects in Alaska and Globally
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Although Alaska is known for its iconic megafauna, its microfauna contains rich examples of fascinating, but often very poorly known, diversity with immense ecological importance. This talk will review studies relevant to understanding the impact of climate change on the global arthropod fauna and that of Alaska.

Zachary Brown, PhD, Executive Director Inian Islands Institute
The True Nature of the Climate Crisis
Time: 7:00 p.m.
In this presentation, Brown will begin with stories and visuals from his background as a climate scientist working aboard icebreaking vessels in the Arctic and Antarctic seas. From there, he digs into the dramatic climate impacts observed here in Alaska, particularly over the tumultuous past year. Finally, he will take a deep dive into what can be done to address the climate crisis. Brown notes: “Like all successful social movements, from worker's rights to civil rights to gay rights, it begins not with individual action to reduce our own carbon footprint but confronting the structural impediments to change. The sea change in climate action in our historical moment is being driven by civil disobedience and political mobilization.”

Libby Bakalar, Attorney and Author
Speech, Advocacy, and the Constitution in the Age of Social Media
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Libby Bakalar, attorney and author of the popular social media platform One Hot Mess, will discuss freedom of expression under the First Amendment in the age of Trump, social media, and increased government suppression of ideas and beliefs. Drawing on her personal experiences both as a government lawyer and ACLU litigant, Libby will answer questions and talk about why it is more important than ever to use our time and our voices for the things we care about.
Dr. Sonia Nagorski, UAS Assistant Professor of Geology
Global Plastic Pollution Reaches Juneau
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Plastic is a material unknown to the Earth prior to the last century but has rapidly become a persistent and pervasive global pollutant. This talk provides an overview of the scale and distribution of plastic waste on our planet and unveils the results of work by Dr. Nagorski and UAS students, who searched for traces of the contaminant in Juneau-area streams, lakes, beaches, glaciers, and rainfall.
Jim Baichtal, Forest Geologist
The Glacial and Sea Level History of Southeastern Alaska: An Update on Continuing Research
Time: 7:00 p.m.
From the Queen Charlotte Fault to the Canadian boundary, compiled historic and newly acquired data is expanding our understanding of the timing and complexity of the rising sea level following the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). This data also helps to define the timing of the retreat of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet (CIS) from Southeastern Alaska. Interpretation of this data gives insight on the timing and complexity of isostatic crustal adjustments, the ups and downs of land movement that resulted from glaciation and deglaciation, global sea level change. Beryllium-10 surface exposure dating or cosmogenic exposure dating has been used to show the timing of deglaciation across southern Southeast Alaska. We are just beginning research focused to answer those questions across northern Southeast. Come and see just how flexible the surface of southeast Alaska can be and how it reacts to the weight of glaciers.

Kate Troll & John Neary, Board Members of Renewable Juneau
Making Juneau Alaska's Model City of Sustainability
Time: 7:00 p.m.
With political will, planning, policy nudges, and creativity over the next decade Juneau could have a world-class sea-water heat pump district heating system, an electric bus transit system, a very high proportion of EV's, a high proportion of housing heated by heat pumps, cruise ships that don't have to run diesel generators while parked here, and local mines running on hydropower instead of burning diesel. We have all the elements for being Alaska's model city of sustainability but no roadmap. This talk provides that crucial roadmap.

Tania Lewis, Wildlife Biologist
Unraveling the Mystery of the Glacier Bear
Time: 7:00 p.m.
There are few animals as elusive and mysterious as the glacier bear in Southeast Alaska, a region of deep marine fjords left by the Pleistocene ice advances, steep rugged mountains from ongoing tectonism, and large glaciers and ice fields maintained by persistent cold precipitation. Glacier bears, also known as blue bears, are uncommon color variants of black bears (Ursus americanus) whose coats range from white to grey to black with silver tipped guard hairs. Tania will describe a ten year collaborative research project between Glacier Bay National Park and Alaska Department of Fish and Game using DNA from black bears in the region to examine how populations with glacier bears relate to the glacier landscape of northern Southeast Alaska.

Dr. Michael Yellow Bird
Mindful Decolonization, Spirits in our Genes, and the Science of Traditional Indigenous Contemplative Practices
Time: 7:00 p.m.
In this presentation, Dr. Michael

Gyibaawm Laxha - David Robert Boxley, Tsimshian Northwest Coast Artist and Advocate for Language Revitalization
Talking to my Grandfather - Sm'algya̱x Language Revitalization
Time: 7:00 p.m.

Irene Dundas
Repatriation of Clan Objects and Human Remains
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Ms. Dundas will introduce repatriation of clan objects and human remains and speak about what the relationship is between our Southeast Tribes, Clans and Museums.

Jim Powell, PhD Assistant Research Professor UAS and a panel of researchers
Juneau During COVID 19: A Study of Resilience, Leadership, and Community Courage
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Presenters:
- Jim Powell, PhD. Assistant Research Professor, Alaska Coastal Rainforest Center, UAS
- Robert Orttung, PhD, Research Professor, George Washington University
- Joseph Little, PhD, Economics Professor, UAF
- Hana Akselrod, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Infectious Diseases, George Washington University
- Sean Topkok, PhD, Associate Professor, School of Education, UAF
- Peggy Wilcox, Graduate Research Assistant, MPA Program, UAS