fter several years of product design and engineering, Alaska Gear Company has begun field testing a modern version of the iconic “bunny boot,” solidifying its brand as a manufacturer of gear for tough environments. Field testing will demonstrate how the product performs under real-world conditions, especially compared to the original bunny boot.

Extreme Cold Vapor Barrier Boots were developed for the US military in the ‘50s. White and oversized like a rabbit’s foot (hence the nickname), the design has been modified over the years, such as the inclusion of an air valve to keep the boots from rupturing in underpressurized aircrafts or high altitudes. Over the decades, bunny boots have been synonymous with warmth and protection in the harshest environments.

nused for years, the Kaktovik airstrip on Barter Island idled in decay, battered by punishing Arctic coastal storms. Although the land was culturally important to Kaktovik’s Alaska Native people, the former US Air Force runway sat in a ruinous state, with 11,121 square yards of geocell material and 1,464 linear feet of steel drums that had been incrementally installed to protect the landing area from flooding and other show-stopping conditions over the decades.

Removing these materials, remediating the land, and restoring it presented a monumental task. A single company didn’t win the bid; two companies did. ChemTrack Alaska and Cornerstone General Contractors tackled the project under the auspices of their ChemTrack/Cornerstone Joint Venture (CTCSJV).

hether on foot, by dog teams, or in kayaks, the Iñupiat people of Alaska’s North Slope maintain a mobile culture, traveling great distances through a harsh climate. Hunters follow bowhead whales to summer feeding grounds or track caribou herds to the upper Utukok and Colville rivers. Traditional navigation across the mostly featureless terrain involved specific landmarks or the stars.

Inter-village travel is faster and easier in an era of snowmachines, all-terrain-vehicles, trucks, and cars. Residents of Wainwright or Atqasuk might go to Utqiaġvik for shopping or medical appointments, says James Koonaloak, field operations manager for Eskimos, Inc., part of the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation family of companies.

ig things are in store for Alaska’s biggest crude oil producer. ConocoPhillips Alaska, Inc. announced last year that it intends to continue pumping $1 billion per year into its legacy projects in the state while also pursuing new projects. With 1.2 million net undeveloped acres as of the end of 2022, ConocoPhillips Alaska is the largest owner of exploration leases.

“When I think about this track record of adding new development, ConocoPhillips Alaska has more than fifty years of experience on the North Slope safely exploring and discovering new resources and developing new projects and also being a trusted partner for the state in creating wealth for the communities,” says Vincent Lelarge, vice president of Alaska asset development. “With the people and the technology and the skills we have—and with a stable fiscal environment—we have the potential to continue this trend of value creation for decades.”

laska’s relationship with oil began in 1902 when The English Company, soon renamed the Alaska Development Company, struck oil at Katalla, 47 miles southeast of Cordova. Katalla became a boom town, and a refinery was built in 1911, mainly supplying fuel to fishing vessels. A total of 154,000 barrels were produced over twenty years until Christmas Day 1933. A fire destroyed the Chilkat Oil Company refinery, and it was not rebuilt. Katalla disappeared from the map ten years later when the post office closed for good.

The history of oil in Alaska did not end there, of course. Discoveries in the ‘50s and ‘60s put the state’s economy on its present trajectory. The industry remains the state’s largest contributor to jobs and wages, employing up to one-third of Alaskans, directly or indirectly, and oil revenue is the largest component of the state budget.

adami, an oil field about 25 miles east of Prudhoe Bay, was idle for five years in the early 2000s until Savant Alaska, in partnership with a wholly owned subsidiary of Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, revived it. The producer took over from BP Exploration Alaska in 2011 and embarked on an effort to find operational efficiencies.

Although relatively young as Alaska oil fields go, Badami’s operations had accumulated a crust of suboptimal solutions. Badami utilized more than sixty different technologies to support the management and execution of field operations, mainly enterprise-grade systems that were immensely powerful at the office in Anchorage and at the corporate level. However, the systems required extensive and ongoing training for use in the field and were often considered too complex and unwieldy for day-to-day use.

hildren are Alaska’s most precious resource, everyone can agree. The state’s other resources—be they oil and gas, minerals, forests, or energy—present young people with career opportunities. One way that students learn about these resources and careers is through Alaska Resource Education (ARE), an award-winning nonprofit that connects children with the major industries that Alaska depends on.

Founded in 1982, ARE is funded through state, corporate, and individual donations. The 501(c)(3) organization is a partnership between the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development and private companies. ARE provides educational opportunities for students and teachers statewide, distributing a primary education curriculum that meets state standards for science, technology, engineering, and math. The curriculum also aligns with core language arts standards.

rom creating content to automating processes, Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) promises innovation, efficiency, and convenience for a wide variety of industries. It also presents unique risks, ethical concerns, and legal implications that cannot be ignored.

GenAI is a class of machine learning that can spit out text, images, videos, music, or software code based on patterns learned from vast training datasets.

GenAI has been in development for many years, but it was catapulted into the mainstream in 2022 when OpenAI released its human-like chatbot, ChatGPT. The app allows users to type a prompt to generate content almost instantly and effortlessly. Rapid advancements are pushing the possibilities of GenAI further. For instance, Microsoft is embedding its AI-powered CoPilot assistant in Windows, Edge, Office apps, and Bing. Adobe released an AI tool that can search and summarize PDFs.

hile talented musicians are found all over the world, those living in Alaska believe there’s something special about the sounds from their home state.

“Music and performances are inevitably unique because we live in a unique place,” says Kat Moore, a pianist and singer in Anchorage. “It’s inspiring and beautiful and intense in ways that react with our emotions, maybe more so than for those who live in more temperate climates. I feel like there is an intensity to living in Alaska in general, and for me as an emotional writer, that becomes manifested in my writing.”

The midnight sun provides an opportunity to interact with other performers in summer, and the colder months provide time for introspection. “The isolation factor in winter makes music more impactful when people do get together,” Moore says.

anagers want more time to do meaningful work. They want better work-life balance and more energy for professional development. They have ideas for improving things and want to implement them. They have desires to grow at work and dreams for their career.

What stops them?

“Not enough time,” they’ll say.

Their boss will respond, “You should delegate more.”

If only it were that easy. As if delegation is a magic wand that could make it all happen with a flick of the wrist.

It isn’t. Delegation takes work. A great manager must invest time to develop their skills and realize their desires. Alisa Cohn, a top-level CEO coach, says, “The number one job of a leader is to become a master delegator.”

alaskaspa.com

alaskarubbergroup.com