Governor Steve Cowper has seen a longtime goal and campaign promise realized as he signed a law creating the Alaska Science and Technology Foundation on May 13. Its purpose is to fund Alaska‐related scientific research projects and to promote economic and technological development and public health through basic and applied research. Cowper first proposed the foundation in 1980 and feels strongly that Alaska's natural resources must be treated wisely to insure their future. According to Cowper, “Alaska has more coastline than the rest of the nation combined. We have more forest, more minerals, and more oil and gas than any other state. And we're the only Arctic region the U.S. has.” He does not believe that the oil industry or the federal government can sufficiently handle the state's resources, thus his devotion to creating and supporting the foundation.