| Summary: | Dr. Sydney Chapman, expert on auroras, President of IGY, pp. 6-7, 9-10, 14-16, 18, 32 Chris Elvey, Director of the Geophysical Institute, pp. 6, 10, 12 Keith Mather, succeeded Elvey as Director of the Geophysical Institute at UAF, pp. 12, 46-47 Walter Orr Roberts, founder of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, pp.14, 18 William Wood, President, UAF, pp. 19-20 Yasha Feldstein, Russian scientist who helped Akasofu locate auroras more precisely, pp. 25-26 Hannes Alfven, Swedish scientist, p. 33 James Van Allen, Discoverer of Van Allen Radiation belt, pp. 32-33 Senator Stevens of Alaska, pp. 24, 38-39 Ching Meng, expert on auroras, Ph.D. student of Akasofu, p. 43 The media can be accessed at the links below. Audio Part 1: http://streaming.osu.edu/knowledgebank/byrd/oral_history/Syun-Ichi_Akasofu_1.mp3 Audio Part 2: http://streaming.osu.edu/knowledgebank/byrd/oral_history/Syun-Ichi_Akasofu_2.mp3 Dr. Akasofu, the internationally known expert on Arctic auroras, was born in Japan in 1930. As a child he developed an interest in learning and science from his parents, and from the excellent local school system. His town was close to several active volcanoes, and this fact furthered his interest in science. For several years his education was completely disrupted by World War II, but when the war ended Akasofu enrolled in the university to study geophysics. He planned to be a weather forecaster. This led to the study of meteorology, seismology, and atmospheric physics. As a graduate student, he focused on the study of the aurora, and this took him to the University of Alaska, Fairbanks (UAF) in December 1958. He earned his Ph.D. there in 1961. The UAF was the only place in the world for auroral studies at this time. He worked under the direction of Dr. Sydney Chapman, the President of the International Geophysical Year (IGY). He worked very hard to improve his skills in writing and speaking English; as a child he had learned to read English easily. Akasofu was treated well by his American associates in ...
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