Ned Rozell retired after 31 years writing the Alaska Science Forum at UAF’s Geophysical Institute, producing 1,500+ science stories bridging Arctic research and public audiences.
Key Takeaways
The Alaska Science Forum column started in 1976 by geophysicist Neil Davis; Rozell took it over in 1994 and ran it until May 1, 2026.
Rozell’s approach: field-reported storytelling that maintained scientific accuracy while reaching non-specialist readers, validated by UAF researchers who trusted him with their work.
Output: 1,500+ weekly columns plus books, including an upcoming institutional history “Lights on the Hill: A History of the Geophysical Institute.”
UAF is now soliciting public input on the column’s next 25 years via uaf-gi-public-info@alaska.edu.
The column’s longevity (50 years total) is a concrete case study in sustained institutional science communication without paywalls or platform dependency.
