Call for Abstracts — 2026 WAISC

Abstracts due by January 30, 2026

The 2026 conference will highlight the ways for maintaining strength, health, and subsistence lifestyles while moving forward during rapid transitions within the environment, ecology, and industries of Western Alaska. A conference priority is the continued sharing of knowledge across cultural boundaries.

Since 2008, WAISC has brought together rural and urban scientists, educators, students, leaders, and community members to discuss science, research, and issues relevant to Western Alaska.

We welcome submissions drawn from all disciplines that address questions and issues of concern to Western Alaska communities. Abstracts will be reviewed for relevant content and available space by a WAISC committee. If you need support submitting an abstract, please contact Katie Basile.

Topics include, but are not limited to: 

Thriving Communities: Health, adaptation, and the future of Western Alaska villages

• Research, strategies, or stories that highlight how communities implement healthy habits/lifestyles
• Highlight approaches that strengthen well-being, food security, or local leadership in Western Alaska 

Powering the Future: Energy, infrastructure, and creative solutions for rural Alaska

• Innovations in renewable energy or infrastructure that supports sustainable community development
• Research or community projects that explore how communities are balancing modernization with local priorities and traditional values

Knowledge in Partnership: How local/traditional knowledge and science work together to build resilience

• Highlight Indigenous science or collaborative research
• Illustrate how partnerships between communities and researchers inform decision-making and strengthen resilience

Changing Landscapes: Adaptation strategies in the face of permafrost thaw, erosion and flooding

• Research, monitoring, or community-led adaptation to physical changes in land and water systems
• Explore tools and strategies that help communities respond to and plan for environmental change
• Reflect on lessons learned from retreat, adapting in place, and relocation projects

Life on the River, Land and Sea: Ecosystems, fish, wildlife, and the resources we depend on

• Share studies and observations on fish, wildlife, habitat, and ecosystems in Western Alaska
• Highlight community-based monitoring or stewardship efforts that sustain subsistence and healthy ecosystems

Unearthing Stories from the Land: Sharing history, culture, and archaeology

• Present work highlighting collaborative efforts to excavate and learn from artifacts
• Explore how art, archives, and archaeology deepen our connection and understanding to Western Alaska

Abstracts for oral and poster presentation are invited, due online by January 30, 2026. Notification of proposal acceptance is expected to be by February 13.

Abstracts should be no more than 250 words for oral or poster presentations and include the following information:

• Author name, title, email, and institutional affiliation
• Presentation title
• Research question, methods, data and results

Submit abstract