US-SCAR News

On December 10, at 1pm EST, join marine biologist Amy Moran and her team live from McMurdo Station, Antarctica as they conduct research in the coldest ocean water on the planet! In this live Zoom event, learn how researchers dive under sea ice to collect sea creatures and discover how animals like sea spiders and sea urchins survive in the frigid waters of the Southern Ocean. Pre-registration is required. Continue Reading

The workshop, which is scheduled from February 2-4, 2022, for both in-person participants (as well as others who would prefer access via Zoom) at the National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian Institution) in Washington D.C., will explore potential benefits and challenges of such a biological repository. Prior to the workshop, the organizers are reviewing the current state of Antarctic collections in the U.S., including both personal and museum collections. To assist in this effort, please complete a short survey by November 15, 2021, to provide the organizers information about your sample collection, and your thoughts on the need for an Antarctic biological repository. Continue Reading

SAVE THE DATE! Polar Research Board (PRB) Fall Meeting. The PRB Fall Meeting open sessions will take place as a series of online sessions on November 15, 19, and 30. Continue Reading

The new report from the National Academies entitled Mid-Term Assessment of Progress on the 2015 Strategic Vision for Antarctic and Southern Ocean Research is now available. Join us for a public briefing webinar on Wednesday, November 3, 2021, from 2:00-3:00 pm ET. Continue Reading

NSF Office of Polar Programs Antarctic Section Virtual Office Hours are on October 29, 2021, at 3:00 PM (eastern) via Zoom. A NSF Office of Polar Programs Postdoctoral Research Fellowship​ Program Webinar will be held on November 10, 2021, at 4:00 PM (eastern) via Zoom. Continue Reading

Mark Your Calendar! 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

The US Biological Adaptations to Environmental Change in Antarctica – An Advanced Training Program for Early Career Scientists has grants available for research and travel to enhance participation in the US Antarctic Program. Funding is available to augment current research, or to offset costs to attend in person or remote meetings. Applicants can be already involved in Antarctic research or be interested in getting involved in the study of any aspect of Antarctic science (does not have to be biological). Applications are invited from (1) students currently enrolled in MS or PhD programs, (2) postdoctoral researchers, and (3) early-career faculty and research scientists. “Early career” is defined here as pre-PhD or within five years of earning a PhD. Applicants must be enrolled or employed at a US university or institution. Review of applications will start December 15, 2021. Applications submitted after December 15 will be reviewed until all available funds are fully allocated. Continue Reading

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has established Agency-wide policies and requirements to help ensure research environments are free from sexual assault, sexual harassment, and other forms of harassment. At the same time, NSF realizes that the U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP) is a unique research environment, with participants from a wide variety of institutions and backgrounds. With the recognition that more work is needed to develop a robust Sexual Assault/Harassment Prevention and Response (SAHPR) program to support the entire deployed community, regardless of affiliation, NSF is launching an extensive outreach effort consisting of an online survey and a series of focus groups to gather feedback that will guide efforts going forward. Continue Reading

We would like to announce an upcoming NSF-funded workshop with the goals of assessing the current state of biological collections from Antarctica held in the United States, and identifying the value of and need for a repository for Antarctic organisms. In addition to these objectives, workshop participants will explore potential benefits and challenges of such a biological repository, including discussions related to collection organization, accessibility, infrastructure, and the feasibility of a self-sustaining repository(ies), in order to expand our understanding of Antarctic biology and its diverse ecosystems. The workshop is currently scheduled for February 2-4, 2022 for both in-person participants (as well as others who would prefer access via Zoom) at the National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian Institution). In preparation for the workshop, we are assessing the current state of Antarctic collections in the U.S., including both personal and museum collections. To do so, we need your help. Please complete this survey by November 15, 2021 to provide us with information about your sample collection, and your thoughts on the need for an Antarctic biological repository. We invite those interested in attending the workshop to apply for travel support of up to $1200. Applications are due November 15, 2021 and award announcements will be made December 15, 2021. Continue Reading

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

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, 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-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

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 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’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

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

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

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

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