UPDATES:

21 June 2004 - Ms. Bejin has completed her field expedition and returned home.

Karen Bejin helped develop land-atmosphere energy and moisture flux models for artic tundra near the Toolik Field Station in northern Alaska. Karen worked with researchers from the Microwave Geophysics Group at the University of Michigan to collect data with sophisticated sensors to monitor the thickness and water content of permafrost, an important carbon sink in the arctic environment.

Karen teaches 6th grade science, English, and reading, and one section of accelerated 8th grade science at DeLong Middle School in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. Karen has participated in research experience programs in Alaska, Wisconsin, and the American West, and has won several awards from state science associations. Karen looks forward to her TREC experience as an adventure in learning, and hopes to show her students stories and pictures of "what it's like to do research, what it's like to be working at something you love to do, and what it's like to be a life-long learner."

• Teacher's Journal: Find out more about Karen, read questions from her students, and read her journal from the field
• Ask the Teacher: Message board where you can ask Ms. Bejin questions about the project and her adventures
• Photo Album: Find pictures of the research team, the local environment, and adventures in northern Alaska here