Arctic engineering: evolving high-tech geomatics.

• Author: Anderson, Tom
• Position: OIL & GAS

The fields of science and technology are growing exponentially in Alaska as resource development becomes even more inextricably linked to the state's budget and economy. Engineering, and specifically geomatics engineering, is now an essential player in the modernization of efficient, environmentally safe oil and gas transportation.

Perusing University of Alaska Anchorage (UA A) and University of Alaska Fair banks (UAF) engineering course offerings online finds the Arctic Engineering programs state-of-the-art in curriculum and applicability to Alaska development projects on the North Slope. The University's Arctic Engineering Graduate Programs cover facets of the industry like multi-modal transportation improvements in cold regions, design and operation of constructed works where ice and frozen ground effect conventional methods, and the evaluation of climate change impacts on Arctic infrastructure. The field is on the map and enticing to engineering students seeking a niche. While UAA has a master's program, UAF has both a master's and a doctoral program.

It appears 2015 is the year for the best and brightest Alaska engineering professionals being retained to enhance Arctic pipeline performance and functionality.

New Player In Alaska

In 2013 there was an effort by survey engineering firms to be awarded a contract by Alyeska Pipeline Service Company. Alyeska, the company that formed in 1970 to design, build, maintain, and operate the Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS), awarded the surveying services contract to Merrick & Company in March 2014. Merrick is an employee-owned civil engineering and surveying company formed in 1955 in Colorado and covers everything from geospatial and planning solutions to architecture and engineering around the globe, with offices in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom.

Charlie Barnwell, recently hired by Merrick, came to Alaska with his family in 1963 when he was eight years old. His father was a geologist and worked for Sinclair, an oil and gas company that later became part of ARCO. Sinclair was one of the original resource development explorers in the state. Barnwell, at the time a third grader, moved from Libya, Africa, to the very opposite state of Alaska and was bright eyed and anxious to see firsthand the beauty of the Arctic.

Barnwell held tight to his passion for Alaska's wilderness and geography. After graduating from Dimond High School in Anchorage and successfully pursuing a...