Council Project Groups

1. Full-Year Project Groups

• Alpine Cryosphere

  Project Summary: An increasing number of APECS members work in the mid-latitude cryosphere (portions of Earth’s surface where water is in solid form) and high-altitude environments, not just the Polar Regions. This project group was therefore created to improve APECS’ resources for non-polar researchers (e.g. building partnerships & hosting webinars) and welcomes any ideas! Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

  Project Group Members: Carla Tapia Baldis (Leader), Rodrigo Alves (Co-leader), Aaditya Nath Kapil, Dhanendra Singh, Florian Vidal, Francesc Roura Adserias, Joaquin Bastias, Kelly Huh, Nadya Yanakieva, Priyanka Gaikwad, Sakshi Mankotia, Scarlett Zetter, Suman Kumari, Mathieu Casado (ExCom Contact), Carrie Harris, Greta Wells, Kabir Rasouli. You can read some of the bios on our Council page. 

• APECS Arts

  Project Summary: This project group will promote links between art and science, look for ways to raise the profile of interesting collaborative Art-Science projects in order to inspire others, and develop a networking framework to bring together artists and polar researchers. The group will set up and maintain an APECS database of artists and polar researchers and design and provide content to a project website that can, for example, showcase relevant projects and exhibitions. They will also organise a series of webinars to promote collaborative projects/provide advice on setting up collaborations.

  Project Group Members: Elizabeth Perera (Leader), Doğaç Baybars Işıler, Gerusa Radicchi, Jill Diederich, John Woitkowitz, Kirsi Keskitalo, Pablo Trucco-Pignata, Paul Rosenbaum, Meghan Helmberger (ExCom Contact), Alex Thornton, Gabriela Roldan (ExCom Ex-officio). You can read some of the bios on our Council page. 

• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Polar Research

  Project Summary: This project group is an umbrella group that facilitates discussion and action related to diversity, inclusion, and equity in polar research. It is guided by the broad aim of supporting APECS members to thrive in their professional endeavors regardless of nationality, ethnicity, religion, race, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, economic class, disability, physical appearance, age, or career status. This project group cannot address all aspects of these broad and challenging topics. However, many of the challenges polar ECRs face in their careers – including widespread and high-profile issues like harassment, assault, and implicit bias – are interconnected and affect a range of individuals and groups. Therefore, this project group takes the form of an umbrella group that supports its members to lead activities related to the specific issues about which members are most concerned or passionate. Activities may focus on a single/narrow issue or on broad/overlapping issues: e.g., activities on international approaches to promoting inclusive field cultures, broadly; on combating harassment, specifically; or on combating sexual harassment in the field, more specifically. The goals of the group are to: (a) Facilitate international, interdisciplinary dialogue around diversity, inclusion, and equity in polar research; (b) Provide necessary and often hard-to-find resources for APECS members facing identity-related challenges, as well as bystanders, allies, and leaders in our communities; (c) Help ensure that the values of diversity, inclusion, and equity remain embedded in APECS and related communities now and in the future.

  Project Group Members: Allison Cusick, Anika Happe, Christy Rouault, Despina Gkotsidou, Élise Devoie, Hrishikesh Hemantkumar Rane, Jack Buckingham, John Read, Jonathan William Wood, Julie Schram, Lauren Thompson, Marta Moreno Ibáñez, Mathieu Casado, Stanislav Ksenofontov, Vinod Kumar Nathan, Xiangbing Kong, Deniz Vural (ExCom Contact), Meghan Helmberger (ExCom Contact), Alex Thornton, Annie Chien, Carrie Harris, Gabriela Roldan (ExCom Ex-officio), Morgan Seag. You can read some of the bios on our Council page. 

• Non-Academic Careers Information

  Project Summary: It can be difficult to make the switch from academics to a non-academic career: What are the options? Where to find or how to get opportunities? What other things should you consider with regards to for example your CV? Non-Academics Careers Information (NACI) is a platform on which people who consider a career outside academics are able to find information. It includes profiles of (former) researchers who chose a non-academic path, webinars about people's experiences and recommended reading. We also hope to include Non-Academic Careers on the job board and fellowship pages of the APECS website as well as creating a blogspace. Continue on helping collect useful information on non-academic career paths related to polar research. https://www.apecs.is/career-resources/non-academic-careers.html

  Project Group Members: Elisa Seyboth (Leader), Dalia C. Barragán-Barrera, Kirsten Reid, Mathieu Casado (ExCom Contact). You can read some of the bios on our Council page. 

• Polar Organisations Overview

  Project Summary: Many Polar Organizations carry on amazing research in Polar Regions aiming to understand the different aspect of these areas. As individual researchers, we collaborate with many of them and refer to them in a very familiar way. Most of the organizations carry complicated acronyms that are difficult to identify. Things become particularly complicated when we face a new study area or establish new collaborations. New organizations show up in our everyday research and many acronyms can be difficult to remember, even more for ECRs new in the field. During the last term we have updated the existing database and now we will work on a visual and user-friendly interface that works as a reference tool to the whole international polar community, and that can be updated overtime.

  Project Group Members: Ekaterina Uryupova, Emil Ísleifur Sumarliðason, Femi Anna Thomas, Georgi Laukert, Jabir Thajudeen, Joseph Martin, Lucas Henrique de Oliveira Silva, Shipra Nagar, Gwenaëlle Gremion (ExCom Contact), Lara Perez. You can read some of the bios on our Council page. 

• T-MOSAiC Vlogs

  Project Summary: Rationale: The public is increasingly aware of the Arctic and its relevance to climate and ecosystems, from local to global scales. While there is broad awareness of Arctic science, few people have experienced Arctic environments and scientific research, despite the interconnectedness that technology offers. Bringing the public on a journey into Arctic field research will foster a deeper appreciation for northern environments and science. Moreover, broader light in the community of Arctic researchers should be shed on current and proposed activities within T-MOSAiC project which is aimed to connect studies taking place throughout the Arctic and across disciplines in order to generate new insights into northern geosystems, ecosystems and human systems.Objective: With APECS, coordinate a series of vlogs by Arctic researchers, exploring their fieldwork environment, science, and its relevance. Goals: To increase public understanding of and interest in Arctic environments and science, by connecting field researchers with the public through field vlogs.

  Project Group Members: Ivan Alekseev (Leader), Sergio Raez Villanueva (Co-leader), Alexandra Yingst, Julia Garcia Oteyza Ciria, Scott Sugden, Sidney Horlick, Deniz Vural (ExCom Contact). You can read some of the bios on our Council page. 

• Indigenous Collaborations

  Project Summary: This group is currently seeking to form partnerships with indigenous organizations that could help to set the group's priorities. These partnerships would lay out what organizations would want from APECS, and what they could provide to our members.

  Project Group Members: Stanislav Ksenofontov (Leader), Élise Devoie, Emma Davis, John Doherty, Jonathan Wood, Mariel Kieval, Sergey Chernikov, Spencer Weinstein, Gwenaëlle Gremion (ExCom Contact), Ranjan Datta, Alex Thornton, Marianna Pinzone. You can read some of the bios on our Council page. 

• APECS Podcast

  Project Summary: This project will be the production of a podcast which takes the form of interviews, talking to anyone and everyone who lives and works in polar environments. The goal is to be informative and interesting but also entertaining- the episodes will appeal particularly to APECS members but should be enjoyable for everyone (from senior scientists to laymen) to listen to. Living and working in the polar world is exciting and adventurous but it can also be monotonous, lonely or logistically fraught. We would like to peel back the veil and reveal the polar world as people might not have seen it before. We would like to talk to literally everyone and anyone, from phd students to institute directors to vessel captains to indigenous peoples. The episodes could also be a platform to share APECS news or report from conferences, as well as celebrate events like International Polar Week. The interviews will be informal and just a chance to chat about the guest’s research or experiences (perhaps any fun fieldwork stories as well!).

  Project Group Members: Jack Buckingham (Co-leader), Ryan O'Hara (Co-leader), Alexandra Zuhr, Christy Rouault, Elise Gallois, Friederike Säring, Henrietta Hammant, Katharina Heinrich, Nicole Stark, Rebecca Duncan, Shalaka Patil, Shinae Montie, Spencer Weinstein, Susana Hancock, Swati Nagar, Trym Eiterjord, Gwenaëlle Gremion (ExCom Contact), Lara Perez. You can read some of the bios on our Council page. 

• Remote Sensing Database

  Goals of the Project:
  1. To generate a central database and document that summarises the key specifications of past, present and future remote sensing instruments and how to access their data sets.
  2. To help improve the understanding of Remote Sensing instruments, their capabilities and limi-tations, and the suite of data sets available for Polar research.
  3. Provide a practical resource for researchers' looking to use Remote Sensing data and reduce the time spent trying to understand and locate these data sets.
  
  Potential Project Outputs:
  1. An online database, possibly developed through the APECS website, which contains the key specifications of satellite and ground-based remote sensing instruments.
  2. An accompanying document that summarises this information more succinctly.
  3. Depending on the success of the project, a journal article could be written so that the wider Polar community can access this database. A journal such as Earth System Science Data (https://www.earth-system-science-data.net/) may be suitable for this purpose.

  Project Group Members: William D. Harcourt (Leader), Hiral Jain (Co-leader), Mikhail Latonin (Co-leader), Azamat Tolipov, Cinthya Bello, Hugo Guímaro, Jesus Lucero, Joana Fragão, Louise Borthwick, Lucas Henrique de Oliveira Silva, Nadya Yanakieva, Nicholas Ryan Hasson, Olga Kulikova, Prashant Pandit, Rodrigo Gomez Fell, Sakshi Mankotia, Shridhar Jawak, Suman Kumari, Vikram Goel, Neelu Singh (ExCom Contact), Jennifer Cooper. You can read some of the bios on our Council page. 

• Mental Health Resources

  Project Summary: It is more and more clear that being an ECR in academia is stressful and challenging, especially with all the current uncertainties due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The objective of this PG is to create and curate a database compiling information, online tests, tips, contacts, etc. from reputable sources on the issue of Mental Health and mental health issues in academia. APECS members and the entire community will be able to access this resource through the website, increasing the potential impact of this resource.

  Project Group Members: Grace Shephard (Leader), Lina Madaj, Maud van Soest, Meghan Helmberger (ExCom Contact). You can read some of the bios on our Council page. 

• Science & Diplomacy

  Project Summary: Since the 1990’s, the Arctic has proven to be a robust space for open, diplomatic communication, unique multilateral governance structures, and strong international scientific cooperation. Through Arctic Council working groups, scientific observing networks, and critical research initiatives, a common commitment to science has served as the unifying force in Arctic relations and bears a substantial amount of the peacekeeping burden in the region, symbolically and materially. Much debate reigns on whether and how the “low politics” of science, cultural exchange, and environmental cooperation impact the “high politics” of great power competition, but what is clear is that social and natural scientists, as well as Indigenous people, are the best positioned actors to communicate humanitarian pan-Arctic values and thinking to policy-makers and representatives of national and regional governments. There is thus a need to highlight the diplomatic and cross-cultural work of scientists and Indigenous researchers, as well as empower early-career scientists to speak up for a sustainable and peaceful future. Successful multilateral collaboration between diverse actors will require that we foster an adaptive communicative culture and language to address an increasingly intersectional and interdisciplinary arena of action. This project group thus aims to create Arctic-specific science diplomacy and communication resources for early career-scientists interested in the policy-application of their own research and the broader conversation about peace and cooperation in the Arctic.

  Project Group Members: Nicholas Parlato (Leader), Arthi Ramachandran, Clément Astruc-Delor, Ekaterina Uryupova, Maria Pogojeva, Megan Eldred, Susana Hancock, Tayana Arakchaa, Trym Eiterjord, Deniz Vural (ExCom Contact), Mathieu Casado (ExCom Contact). You can read some of the bios on our Council page. 

2. Temporary Project Groups

• APECS-IPCC Project Group (ended)
  

  Project Summary: The APECS-IPCC Group project is an APECS full-year working group, composed by highly dynamic and motivated council members who organize and coordinate efforts to allow early career scientists to be involved in the reviewing process of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) special reports. This term, APECS is organizing a group review of the second order draft (SOD) of the WGII contribution to IPCC main assessment report AR6 (SODWGII-AR6) by Early Career Scientists. The purpose of this expert review group is to provide a comprehensive review of the SOD-WGII-AR6 report using the variety of knowledge that our members and early career polar researchers can provide. It will be the sixth group review of an IPCC report that APECS organizes with the help of its partners organizations (the organizations that have participated or are currently participating in the organization of a review are YESS, PAGES ECN, PYRN, MRI). We would like to provide comments for as many chapters as possible, but the feasibility of doing so depends on the number of team members (organizers of the review) and of participants (reviewers).

  Project Group Members: Marta Moreno Ibáñez (Leader), Adnan Arshad, Alexis Anne Bahl, Anoruo Chukwuma, Arthi Ramachandran, Christel Hansen, Cinthya Bello, Crispin Swedi Bilombele, Daniel Killam, Deniz Vural, Eduardo Queiroz Alves, Ekaterina Uryupova, Emma Davis, Faten Attig Bahar, Feba Francis, Florent Fayolle, Florian Vidal, Gabrielle Vance, Gamil Gamal, Gwenaëlle Gremion (ExCom Contact), Helena Bergstedt, Hugo Guímaro, Jabir Thajudeen, Javier L. Arnaut, Jesus Lucero, Jhon Fredy Mojica Moncada, Jilda Alicia Caccavo, Joel Singley, John M. Doherty, Joseph Martin, María Fernanda de los Ríos, Marlen Kolbe, Mathieu Casado (ExCom Contact), Maud Van Soest, Mikhail Latonin, Nicolas Champollion, Olumide Onafeso, Paul Rosenbaum, R. Arun Prasath, Ryan O'Hara, Scarlett Zetter, Scott Sugden, Sebastián Ruiz, Sergio Ráez Villanueva, Shinae Montie, Suman Kumari, Susana Hancock, Tomás Bolaño, Valentina Rabanal, Xiangbing Kong. You can read some of the bios on our Council page. 

• Guide on proper field communication and positioning systems (ended)
  

  Project Group Members: Andrea Schneider (Leader), Marta Moreno Ibáñez, Rebecca Duncan, Sinan Yirmibesoglu, Nathaniel Young, Christel Hansen, Rodrigo Gomez Fell, Charlie Hewitt, Priyanka, Sara Mollie Cohen, Meghan Helmberger (ExCom Contact). You can read some of the bios on our Council page. 

• IASC Fellowships Review (ended)
  

  Project Summary: The IASC Fellowship Program is meant to engage early career scientists in the work of the five IASC Working Groups (WGs): Atmosphere, Cryosphere, Marine, Social & Human, and Terrestrial and additionally for Arctic indigenous. IASC Fellows are doctoral or postdoctoral researchers who actively participate in selected activities of the IASC WGs. We are looking for reviewers for the applications. Only people who are NOT applying for the IASC Fellowships that year are qualified to be reviewers.

• APECS International Mentorship Award 2021

  Project Summary: Organize the APECS Mentorship Award 2021. See the website for the Mentor Award pages as an example.

  Project Group Members: Maciej Manko (Leader), Marlen Kolbe (Co-leader), Aaditya Nath Kapil, Cinthya Bello, Hrishikesh Hemantkumar Rane, Jabir Thajudeen, Kirsten Reid, Paul Rosenbaum, Tomás Bolaño-Ortiz, Mathieu Casado (ExCom Contact), Neelu Singh (ExCom Contact). You can read some of the bios on our Council page. 

• ICASS X Fellowships Review 2021
  

3. Event-Related Project Groups

• Antarctica Day 2020 (ended)
  

  Project Summary: This group organises the APECS international activities for Antarctica Day to be held in December 2020.

  Project Group Members: Nicole Stark (Leader), Azamat Tolipov, Claudia Maturana, Elizabeth Perera, Friederike Säring, Katharina Heinrich, Marlen Kolbe, Priyanka Vinayak Gaikwad, Deniz Vural (ExCom Contact). You can read some of the bios on our Council page.

• APECS Online Conference 2021

  Project Summary: This group organises the annual APECS Online Conference and all associated activities. This includes the call for and shortlisting of abstracts, planning and executing the programme and chairing the event.

  Project Group Members: Louise Borthwick (Co-leader), Maud van Soest (Co-leader), Anika Happe, Carla Tapia Baldis, Claudia Maturana, Florent Fayolle, Hugo Guímaro, Javier Arnaut, Joana Fragão, Kelly Huh, Maria Pogojeva, Minkyoung Kim, Rahul Dey, Rodrigo Gomez Fell, Sakshi Mankotia, Scarlett Zetter, Scott Sugden, Shalaka Patil, Sidney Horlick, Trym Eiterjord, Gwenaëlle Gremion (ExCom Contact), Mathieu Casado (ExCom Contact), Carrie Harris, Gabriela Roldan (ExCom Ex-officio), Jan-Lukas Menzel. You can read some of the bios on our Council page.

• APECS International Polar Week March 2021

  Project Summary: The polar regions support a rich array of life, inlcuding northern communities. Whether it's in the Arctic or Antarctic, scientists from all over the world are working together to increase our knowledge of the cryosphere and its inhabitants. It is for this spirit of international cooperation and the excitement of scientific discovery that the APECS proudly organizes International Polar Week. APECS uses this opportunity to plan & develop polar science, education and outrach related activities alongside teachers, educators and those interested in polar education for the equinoxes of each year. The equinoxes in March and September are the only time when everywhere on earth the day length is 12 hours, a perfect opportunity to celebrate the poles on a global scale! Polar Week is organized in both March and September and internationally coordinated by an APECS Council Project Group. This year we are setting up two groups, one for the planning of the March and one of the September Polar Week. The groups will work on a) developing the APECS international education and outreach activities for the week, and b) work in close cooperation with the APECS National Committees to encourage them to contribute activities of their own.

  Project Group Members: Allison Cusick (Leader), Aaditya Nath Kapil, Femi Anna Thomas, Henrietta Hammant, Jack Buckingham, Jill Diederich, Joaquin Bastias, Mariel Kieval, Pablo Trucco-Pignata, Priyanka Vinayak Gaikwad, Shipra Nagar, Tatiana Burmenko, Tayana Arakchaa, Zambra Lopez, Meghan Helmberger (ExCom Contact). You can read some of the bios on our Council page.

• APECS International Polar Week September 2021

  Project Summary: The polar regions support a rich array of life, inlcuding northern communities. Whether it's in the Arctic or Antarctic, scientists from all over the world are working together to increase our knowledge of the cryosphere and its inhabitants. It is for this spirit of international cooperation and the excitement of scientific discovery that the APECS proudly organizes International Polar Week. APECS uses this opportunity to plan & develop polar science, education and outrach related activities alongside teachers, educators and those interested in polar education for the equinoxes of each year. The equinoxes in March and September are the only time when everywhere on earth the day length is 12 hours, a perfect opportunity to celebrate the poles on a global scale! Polar Week is organized in both March and September and internationally coordinated by an APECS Council Project Group. This year we are setting up two groups, one for the planning of the March and one of the September Polar Week. The groups will work on a) developing the APECS international education and outreach activities for the week, and b) work in close cooperation with the APECS National Committees to encourage them to contribute activities of their own.

  Project Group Members: Jhon Fredy Mojica (Co-leader), Jonathan William Wood (Co-leader), Olga Kulikova (Co-leader), Clément ASTRUC-DELOR, Dhanendra Singh, Elise Gallois, Francesc Roura Adserias, Georgi Laukert, Gerusa Radicchi, Jabir Thajudeen, Juliana Silva Souza, Megan Sheremata, Minkyoung Kim, Nicholas Parlato, Nicholas Ryan Hasson, Rahul Dey, Rodrigo Paidano Alves, Tatiana Burmenko, Zambra Lopez, Deniz Vural (ExCom Contact). You can read some of the bios on our Council page.

• APECS Workshop at the UArctic Congress 2021

  Project Summary: Planning an APECS Workshop at the University of the Arctic Congress May 2021 (online or in-person).

  Project Group Members: Charlie Hewitt (Leader), Jonathan William Wood (co-leader), Juliana Silva Souza (co-leader), Ryan O'Hara (co-leader), Alexandra Yingst,Clément ASTRUC-DELOR, Deniz Vural, Grace Shephard, Hrishikesh Hemantkumar Rane, Jesus Lucero, Jonathan Julia Garcia Oteyza Ciria, Kirsi Keskitalo, Leena Leppänen, Nicholas Ryan Hasson, Rebecca Duncan, Sakshi Mankotia, Spencer Weinstein, Tatiana Burmenko, Deniz Vural (ExCom Contact), Neelu Singh (ExCom Contact), Lara Perez. You can read some of the bios on our Council page.

• APECS Workshop at the Arctic Science Summit Week 2021

  Project Summary: "We plan to hold three 1-hour online workshops to engage Early Career Researchers (ECRs) who will be attending ASSW2021, and others who are interested in Arctic research. The workshops are being organized by early career researchers from the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS) and the Young Earth System Scientists (YESS) with support from the Year of Polar Prediction (YOPP). Our interactive sessions will provide an opportunity for ECRs to engage with Arctic researches and to find out how to get involved with the Year of Polar Prediction, what existing education resources there are, and the future training opportunities that are planned. We will 1) introduce the three organizations (APECS, YESS, YOPP), 2) host a panel discussion on COVID-19 impacts on ECRs and a fieldwork session to introduce ECRs to working in the Arctic, and 3) let ECRs know about some of the main YOPP projects and what opportunities there will be over the coming year to get involved in YOPP Educational activities. These sessions will provide a community building opportunity for ECRs who will be attending ASSW2021 and others to meet and engage. ".

  Project Group Members: Julia Garcia Oteyza Ciria, Deniz Vural (ExCom Contact), Meghan Helmberger (ExCom Contact), Clare Eayrs (Council Ex-officio/YOPP), Yu-Chiao Liang (YESS), Isa Elegbede (YESS), Gabriel Ibeh (YESS), Kirstin Werner (YOPP). You can read some of the bios on our Council page. 

• APECS Workshop at the ICASS X Workshop 2021

  Project Summary: Planning an APECS Workshop at the International Congress of Arctic Social Sciences (ICASS X) in June 2021, Arkhangelsk, Russia (online or in-person).

  Project Group Members: Despina Gkotsidou, Eduard Galimullin, Nicholas J. Parlato, Tatiana Burmenko, Daria Veselova, Ludmila Voronina, Uliana Yakusheva, Yulia Zaika. You can read some of the bios on our Council page.

With so many events and projects being organized within the APECS network, it is important for all Project Groups to report on their activities so we can keep our members and partners updated about them. Here are some important form that APECS Project Groups should fill out on a regular basis:

1) When you are starting to organize a new event: let us know about it by filling out this form so we can add it to the APECS Event list.

2) Do you need some financial support for organizing your event? APECS has some very limited financial support that every Project Group can apply for. Applications are processed on a first comes, first served basis as long as funds are available. The guidelines for this funding you will find here and the applications form is here. APECS is working on a limited budget, hence APECS may only provide partial support of an event.

3) After an event or project is completed, fill out this form to let our members and partners know how it went.

4) APECS is publishing its Annual Report at the end of the year. To make sure we include all the activities of our Project Groups, please submit the End of Project / End of Term Report via this form.