United States
Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research

US-SCAR News

NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) seeking reviewers

The National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) is seeking reviewers for geosciences applications (includesPolar Programs). Serving as a GRFP Reviewer is an excellent opportunity to apply your research and career expertise to help identify future science and engineering leaders, and to gain valuable perspective to share with faculty and students at your institution. Reviewers are only asked to review in their subfield of expertise within a major field of study. Applications from students are due in mid-October. Continue Reading


NSF Introduction to Polar Cyberinfrastructure Webinar

October 21, 2021 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM EDT The term “Polar Cyberinfrastructure” can feel like esoteric jargon, maybe be a bit of a mouthful, and can mean a lot of different things to the research community. In addition to the big facilities and fancy supercomputers, Polar CI aims to serve the full breadth of NSF-funded Polar researchers. In this webinar, the NSF Polar Cyberinfrastructure Program Officer, Allen Pope, will explain what Polar CI means at NSF and introduce the core program as well as related opportunities within NSF at the intersection of polar science and computing. The webinar will also share highlights from some NSF-funded polar cyberinfrastructure projects and will finish with ample time for audience Q&A. Continue Reading


US Antarctic Social Event

US Antarctic Social Event, Wednesday Oct 27! 2 pm Hawaii, 4 pm Alaska, 5 pm PDT, 6 pm MDT, 7 pm CDT and 8 pm EDT. This is a strictly social gathering - no presentations, lectures or panels, just a chance for people to get together and socialize. We will be meeting on Wonder, a virtual space that allows you to "walk around" and join different conversation groups. Join any time during the hour to catch up with old friends and meet new ones! Please pass on this information - everyone is welcome. Continue Reading


US Antarctic Interview Series - #1 Berry Lyons and Melisa Diaz

US-SCAR is happy to announce the first installment of our US Antarctic Interview Series. This new feature of our website provides the opportunity for us to highlight a pair of people involved in the US Antarctic Program - someone with an established career along with an early career collaborator. Our first two interviews are with Berry Lyons, a professor at The Ohio State University, and Melisa Diaz, a postdoctoral scholar at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Continue Reading


NSF has awarded $3.8 million as part of the OPP Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (PRF) Program

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Office of Polar Programs (OPP) has awarded $3.8 million to early-career scientists as part of the OPP Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program. This is the first year of funding for the Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program. Continue Reading


Ant-ICON Engagement Session Sept 29th 6pm UTC

Ant-ICON is a SCAR Scientific Research Program. Ant-ICON will answer fundamental science questions (as identified by the SCAR Horizon Scan), relating to the conservation and management of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean and focus on research to drive and inform international decision-making and policy change. After the success of the first two community engagement sessions, we have decided to host a third session specifically targeted at early and mid-career researchers (EMCRs). During the session we will introduce Ant-ICON and each of the themes, followed by a discussion on how early and mid-career researchers can be involved in Ant-ICON and how Ant-ICON can best support them. Continue Reading


NSF Funding Opportunity: Facilitator for Polar Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM)

NSF’s Office of Polar Programs (OPP) in the Directorate for Geosciences (GEO)and the Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR) seek proposals for a Facilitator to manage the Polar Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (Polar STEAM) initiative. Proposal deadline: February 25, 2022. Continue Reading


NSF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY: Support for engaging students and the public in polar research

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Research on Learning (DRL), the Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE) and the Office of Polar Programs (OPP) are accepting and reviewing proposals for research and development projects that facilitate access to polar research efforts in undergraduate education, informal science education or formal PreK-12 science or math education. Continue Reading


SCAR Visiting Scholar Deadline Extended to 30th September 2021

The deadline for SCAR Visiting Scholar applications has been extended to Thursday 30 September 2021. The SCAR Visiting Scholar Scheme provides individual awards of up to USD $5000. For 2021, in recognition of the current travel restrictions as a result of Covid19, there will be significant flexibility with regard to the timing of completion of the visits, and indeed we welcome applications that are planned to be completed virtually, i.e. without a travel element to the proposal. We would also emphasise that the application process is not onerous with only a one-page proposal to prepare and your CV to add. Continue Reading


Seeking Experts: Technology Developments to Advance Antarctic Research

The Polar Research Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine seeks your input for convening a workshop planning committee. This committee will organize a forum to explore how technological innovation can: advance, facilitate, and transform Antarctic research and facilitate improvements to science support logistics; can increase the reach of scientific investigations in Antarctica while reducing the logistics and environmental footprint of these operations; and can facilitate broader, more diverse participation in Antarctic research. The workshop will address specific disciplinary sciences as well as cross-cutting themes such as: autonomous sensors and platforms, communications and connectivity, transportation and logistics, and energy sources and consumption, including low power and battery developments. We invite your suggestions for people to serve on the workshop planning committee. Submissions (including self-nominations) are welcome until September 15th. Continue Reading


Dr. Doug Kowalewski Joins the NSF Office of Polar Programs as Section Head for Antarctic Sciences

As an Associate Professor at Worcester State University and Chair of the Department of Earth Environment & Physics, Dr. Kowalewski served on his University’s Research Advisory Board and was named the inaugural Faculty Fellow for Research (2019-2021). In this role, he increased external proposal submissions and funded projects on campus, and led the restructuring of the university grants office to better serve faculty research endeavors. Dr. Kowalewski comes to NSF committed to increasing diversity in the sciences. As a co-founder and steering member of the Massachusetts Project Kaleidoscope (PKAL) Regional Network, Dr. Kowalewski's work led to increased STEM recruiting and retention initiatives on Massachusetts State University campuses. He is also a co-founder and board member of the Aisiku STEM Center that provides interdisciplinary research opportunities for underrepresented students. Continue Reading


Southern Ocean Decade and Polar Data Forum Week 2021

A week dedicated to the 2nd Southern Ocean Regional Workshop for the UN Ocean Decade and the 4th edition of the Polar Data Forum. Online, 20 - 24 September 2021. Register now. Continue Reading


SOOS 10th Anniversary Celebration

The Southern Ocean Observing System is turning 10!!!! Join for a celebration of SOOS's achievements over the last decade and plans for the next decade! 1st September, 11:00-13:00 UTC. Register at https://airtable.com/shrll3mWQcGi1e4uc. Continue Reading


Antarctic Environments Portal seeks Editor

The Antarctic Environment Portal is seeking to appoint a new Portal Editor. The Antarctic Environments Portal has been developed to support evidence-based management of Antarctica, by placing the best available science knowledge at the fingertips of Antarctic decision makers. The Portal is an online resource of information on Antarctic environments that supports the work of the Antarctic Treaty System – in particular the Committee for Environmental Protection (CEP). The Portal Editor position is part time (1-2 days a week), the work is done remotely so there are no restrictions on location, and the application deadline is September 7. Continue Reading


NSF Office of Polar Programs communications survey

Are you interested in NSF Office of Polar Program (OPP) news, research, events and media? We have put together a short survey to gather information about our audience, preferred communications channels and what OPP content people are interested in receiving! The survey should only take 5 minutes and will help us provide better, more valuable information to you and others in our science community. The survey can be accessed at https://bit.ly/3fd2nNu. Feel free to distribute this survey to those who might be interested. Continue Reading


NSF selects Roberta Marinelli as director of the Office of Polar Programs

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has selected Dr. Roberta Marinelli to serve as director of the Office of Polar Programs, overseeing Arctic and Antarctic research and operational support for polar facilities. Dr. Marinelli brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to this position, having served in OPP as a program director in Antarctic Biology and Medicine (1997-2000) and in Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems (2005-2011). Her deep understanding of NSF’s fundamental role in creating opportunities for the research community and supporting polar science research infrastructure has led to advanced international partnerships to improve Antarctic research capabilities. Continue Reading


Astronomy & Astrophysics from Antarctica Workshop

The 6th SCAR Workshop for Astronomy & Astrophysics from Antarctica takes place online September 8-10, 2021 from 11am to 3pm GMT. There is no registration fee. For more information, visit the meeting website at https://events.icecube.wisc.edu/event/144/. Continue Reading


New! NSF Office of Polar Programs (OPP) Newsletter

The NSF Office of Polar Programs (OPP) has released its inaugural newsletter. Each quarterly OPP Newsletter will highlight research from around the polar community, share funding opportunities and program updates, and inform the polar community of the latest happenings from around OPP and the National Science Foundation. Stay in the know by subscribing today at https://bit.ly/3gHqVhk. Continue Reading


Reminder - 2021 US Antarctic Science Meeting

Reminder - Registration Deadline July 9! US-SCAR is hosting an online meeting on 12-15 July 2021 for US scientists who are conducting research in, from or about Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. Scientists interested in getting involved in Antarctic research through US programs are also welcome and encouraged to attend. This conference is open to all US scientists and anyone interested in US Antarctic research. There is no registration fee. Continue Reading


Kick-Off Meeting for the Southern Ocean UN Decade – 9th July 2021

Following the publication of our report on Southern Ocean priorities for the next 10 years, we are pleased to announce that the Southern Ocean Task Force will be hosting a Kick-off meeting for the Southern Ocean UN Decade online on the 9th July 2021. This webinar will gather speakers from the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO and members of the Southern Ocean Task Force. The meeting will provide you with an overview of the Southern Ocean contribution to the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. You will know at what stage we are in the Southern Ocean process and we will let you know when and how you can get involved. To accommodate both Western and Eastern participants, we will be hosting two sessions. Continue Reading