The first quarter of the APECS Council 2012-2013 term is over and the APECS Council Reports were full of exciting news. International collaborations amongst APECS members and mentors are spanning the globe in multiple directions, and there are many tangible outcomes from these cooperative interactions. To name a few activities: a working group for traditional knowledge was started, planning for the APECS Workshop at the Arctic Science Summit week continues, a virtual balloon launch and a webinar from McMurdo station were organized as part of Antarctica day in December and Research Highlights was added to the APECS webpage. For the full list of Council activities during the past quarter, see the summary of the Council Term Reports which can be found here.
We are also happy to welcome our new council members; Dagmar Obbels, Michael Laiho and Sarah Crowley. Dagmar started her PhD in 2009 on the AMBIO (Antarctic microbial biodiversity) project at Ghent University. In 2010 she obtained an IWT scholarship which focuses on the adaptation of drought and salinity stress in Antarctic filamentous cyanobacteria. Her latest contribution to APECS has been through APECS Belgium National Committee, where she has been very active. Michael is a second year PhD candidate who works with the EU's influence in Arctic governance: energy and environmental security issues at the Arctic Centre, based in Finland's Arctic city, Rovaniemi. In February he will start a research exchange in Prague, at the University's European Institute and IR Institute. Sarah currently works as an education project manager for the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States in Fairbanks, AK. She manages PolarTREC, a teacher-researcher experience program. Sarah develops and implements teacher trainings on climate change and polar science for online platforms and in-field experiences. Most recently she has worked tirelessly with partners such as APECS to build Polar Educators International; a professional network for those who educate in, for, and about the polar regions. To read their full bios, check out the webpage for the 2012-2013 Council.
We are looking forward to working with our three new Council members and to all of the exciting activities planned for the rest of the 2012-2013 term!
Sanna Majaneva & Christie Wood
