Woods Hole Research Center to lead undergraduate initiative in the Siber...(oss-cutting program and I am thrilled th...)

Dr. Andrew Bunn, an assistant professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences at Huxley College at Western Washington University, is excited to be part of the Polaris Project because, The Polaris Project will allow us to take students to one of the most remote and alluring places in the world to do some really important science. We have a responsibility to understand the dramatic changes taking place in the Arctic and to train and inspire the next generation of arctic researchers.

The initiation of the Polaris Project comes during the International Polar Year (IPY). The IPY is a large scientific program focused on the Arctic and the Antarctic from March 2007 to March 2009,. organized through the International Council for Science (ICSU) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The Polaris Project will emphasize several of the IPY priorities outline by the National Research Council and the National Science Foundation, including attracting and developing the next generation of polar researchers, promoting diversity and involving arctic indigenous communities, integrating research and education, creating innovative undergraduate science and education resources, providing authentic research experiences for undergraduates, and collaborating with other IPY projects in the US and internationally.

Dr. Holmes, director of the Polaris Project, is an earth system scientist with broad interests in the responses and feedbacks of ecosystems to environmental and global change. Most of his current research takes place in the Arctic (field sites are in Russia, Canada, and Alaska), and addresses how climate change is impacting the cycles of water and chemicals in the environment. Dr. Holmes is strongly committed to integrating education and outreach into his research projects, and is particularly interested in involving students in the excit
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