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Daniel "Dan" Osborne

Originally from California, Daniel "Dan" Osborne came to Alaska in 1967 to attend the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF). After studying geophysics, in 1970 he was hired by Charles "Bucky" Wilson at the Geophysical Institute at UAF to install a remote research station in Stevens Village, Alaska and collect data related to research on infrasound and the aurora borealis. Dan went on to have a career with the Geophysical Institute as a project engineer, running their Poker Flat Research Range observatory at Fort Yukon, setting up remote research stations and equipment, and building research instruments in particular related to optics and infrasound. He is retired from the Geophysical Institute, is the past president of the Friends of the Tanana Valley Railroad in Fairbanks, Alaska, and is the author of Alaska's Tanana Valley Railroads: Images of Rail (Arcadia Publishing, 2013). In 2000, he participated in the afternoon storytelling session at the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and shared some of his memories of working there.

Daniel "Dan" Osborne appears in the following new Jukebox projects:

Interview Title	Abstract	Archive #: Oral History	Project	Date of Interview
Daniel "Dan" Osborne	Daniel "Dan" Osborne was interviewed on May 4, 2000 by Bill Schneider at the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks in Fairbanks, Alaska. In this interview, Dan talks about his career as an electronics technician and project engineer at the Geophysical Institute. He discusses doing field research and data collection, projects he worked on, collaborating with scientists, and working at Poker Flat Research Range.	2000-18-05	Geophysical Institute 50th Anniversary	May 4, 2000

As a Person Present at Interview

Interview Title	Archive #: Oral History	Project	Abstract	People Present
Ron Gatterdam	2010-02-03	Railroads of Alaska	This is a recording of Ron Gatterdam giving a presentation titled "Alaska Railroads that Never Were” on March 9, 2010 at the Friends of the Tanana Valley Railroad’s monthly "Rail Stories" public lecture series held at the Tanana Valley Railroad Train Museum at Pioneer Park in Fairbanks, Alaska. He is introduced by the organization's president, Dan Osborne. In this presentation, Ron gives an overview of the history of railroads around Alaska. He includes those that succeeded as well as many that were tried and failed.	Daniel "Dan" Osborne
Bill Reed	2010-02-06	Railroads of Alaska	This is a recording of Bill Reed giving a presentation titled "I Remember the White Pass and Yukon Railroad” on May 11, 2010 at the Friends of the Tanana Valley Railroad’s monthly "Rail Stories" public lecture series held at the Tanana Valley Railroad Train Museum at Pioneer Park in Fairbanks, Alaska. He is introduced by the organization's president, Dan Osborne. In this presentation, Bill provides a series of anecdotes about growing up with and working for the White Pass and Yukon Railroad in Skagway, Alaska. It includes funny stories about speeding down the rail on a hand cart, an employee who couldn't read well enough to understand the Fragile labeling on freight, and characters he worked with on the railroad. He also tells about accidents and scary near miss experiences.	Daniel "Dan" Osborne
Julie Stricker	2010-02-02	Railroads of Alaska	This is a recording of Julie Stricker giving a presentation titled "Falcon Joslin” on February 9, 2010 at the Friends of the Tanana Valley Railroad’s monthly "Rail Stories" public lecture series held at the Tanana Valley Railroad Train Museum at Pioneer Park in Fairbanks, Alaska. She is introduced by the organization's president, Dan Osborne. In this presentation, Julie talks about Falcon Joslin, the founder of the Tanana Valley Railroad. She discusses his personality, his personal background, and his work starting the railroad and being an entrepreneur around Alaska during the early 1900s. She also mentions his deep-seated feud with Judge James Wickersham in the early days of Fairbanks. Julie's presentation is based on a paper she wrote about Falcon Joslin titled "Falcon Joslin: Empire Dreams." Photographs from the Falcon Joslin Collection at the Alaska and Polar Region Collections and Archives at the Univeristy of Alaska Fairbanks can be viewed on-line at the Alaska Digital Archives website.	Daniel "Dan" Osborne