Hello! I am going to try something new for these newsletters and share with you some of the wonderful things I am learning on my new adventure living in Norway and working at the University of Tromsø. This is such a great place with so many wonderful people that I think you would all benefit from learning a little more about it. I moved here in early January when the sun was still below the horizon and ever since the day light has been getting longer and my love for this place and the people grow!
I had the pleasure of giving at talk at the Institute 2 weeks ago and was amazed by the cutting edge research, new projects being developed, and supportiveness of the Director and staff for helping young researchers develop their careers. I choose to highlight NPI this month because they have a number of new positions open and I encourage those of you looking for a new job, or just wanting to learn more to check out NPI. The jobs available are listed further down in this newsletter.
The Norwegian Polar Institute is Norway's central institution for research, environmental monitoring and mapping of the polar regions. The Institute is the Norwegian authorities' consultant and supplier of knowledge, and contributes to the best possible administration of Norwegian polar areas.
Through active participation in national and international bodies, the Polar Institute is central when it comes to protecting national interests in matters of research and the environment. Approximately 110 persons are employed at the Institute in Tromsø, Svalbard and Dronning Maud Land.
The Institute's activities are concentrated on environmental management needs at both poles. Global climate, long-range transported pollution, the effect of pollutants on the environment, biodiversity and topographical mapping of the regions are all important tasks, as is environmental collaboration in the Barents Region. The Institute equips and organizes expeditions to both poles, owns the research vessel "Lance" and runs the Norwegian research stations in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, and Antarctica.
The Norwegian Polar Institute distributes the results of research projects and environmental management projects to the Norwegian administration and to interested scientists and managers as well as providing information to the public. Reports, a science magazine, websites and books are published, of which the "Polar Handbooks" in particular have obtained a wide readership.
The Institute's library contains large collections of scientific and historic polar literature, as well as hunting and expedition records from as far back as the 16th century.
