Expressions of Intent for International Polar Year 2007-2008 Activities

Expression of Interest Details

PROPOSAL INFORMATION

PYRN - Permafrost Young Researchers Network- An international activity to bring together young permafrost researchers during the IPY  (PYRN – Permafrost Young Researchers Network)

Outline
PYRN is a student-driven initiative under the patronage of the International Permafrost Association (IPA) and endorsed by the German IPY commission. PYRN aims to build up a network of young researchers within the field of permafrost and related topics. Young researchers include scientists, engineers and young professionals. PYRN will gather and distribute information, furthering international cooperation and promoting the ideas and results emanating from permafrost research. In order to build up the network, PYRN will use the most modern and flexible means to bring together large numbers of young individuals interested in permafrost related research into a single organization. PYRN will rely on the feedback from its members and the interaction among young researchers on scientific and professional issues to achieve its goals to promote current and future cooperation within the new generation of young permafrost researchers. PYRN is a true interdisciplinary project bringing together scientists from the fields of geosciences, engineering, biology, atmospheric and social sciences. PYRN will build upon the experience gained by the IPA in permafrost research to promote the research of young scientists among the polar community and the public. It will act in close collaboration with the IPA to share resources and promote its IPY projects as well as its education and outreach priorities. PYRN will gather information about available positions, fellowships, events, activities related to permafrost and distribute it to its members and to the wider polar community. It will be involved in the IPY Youth Steering Committee and will therefore voice the concerns and interests of hundreds of other young researchers. PYRN will promote interest in polar research among young scientists by distributing IPY information to its members and promote the idea of a global network of young polar researchers. PYRN will aim at establishing membership in as many countries as possible around the globe. It will encourage countries not traditionally involved in polar research to adhere and to become involved into its activities. PYRN will seek to coordinate its efforts with other international organizations involved in the IPY to reach out to students and to contribute to a full international multidisciplinary collaboration.

What significant advance(s) in relation to the IPY themes and targets can be anticipated from this project?
PYRN is primarily based on the interaction among members coming from fields as diverse as engineering, geosciences, biology, atmospheric and social sciences. PYRN perceives permafrost science in a holistic manner and will foster contacts among members by clearly emphasizing their specialities on its website, by organizing special events and sessions in meetings, and by facilitating contacts among members with the help of interactive web-based tools and mailing lists. It is the first time that an organization formally establishes means of communication between young permafrost researchers from all fields around the globe. PYRN will create a strong network of young researchers interested in permafrost research and will contribute to report on permafrost-related issues in other young scientists, engineers and young professionals’ assemblies. Its actions include: -The creation of a website. The PYRN website features information related to jobs, fellowships, research opportunities, listing of events and links related to permafrost and young researchers. The website lists the member’s names and interests, in order to facilitate contacts and shorten existing channels of communication -The distribution of a newsletter. This newsletter will emphasize PYRN actions within the IPY framework, will report on the latest developments in the permafrost community, and will provide information on jobs, fellowships and meetings -The organization of events within meetings and conferences to report on permafrost science and to foster communication among permafrost researchers -The report on other IPY and scientific groups activities and the coordination of activities with the IPY Youth Steering Committee -PYRN will encourage the involvement of women and minorities in its activities. Women already outnumber men among PYRN consortium members. PYRN will seek to maintain a similar pattern among its future members.

What international collaboration is involved in this project?
PYRN will be linked to all IPA-related EoIs and core activities. In addition PYRN will be a member of the IPY Youth Steering Committee (YSC).

FIELD ACTIVITY DETAILS

Geographical location(s) for the proposed field activities:
Bipolar

Approximate timeframe(s) for proposed field activities:
Arctic: n/a
Antarctic: n/a

Significant facilities will be required for this project:

Will the project leave a legacy of infrastructure?
PYRN will outlive the IPY. Its structure will remain through its coordination office, its national representations and its partnership with the IPA. PYRN will become the main point of contact for young permafrost researchers from all disciplines. PYRN will seek to establish formal contacts with existing young researchers organizations (e.g. WAYS) or education-oriented consortiums such as the University of the Arctic.

How is it envisaged that the required logistic support will be secured?

Has the project been "endorsed" at a national or international level?
PYRN has been endorsed by the German IPY Committee

PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND STRUCTURE

Is the project a short-term expansion (over the IPY 2007-2008 timeframe) of an existing plan, programme or initiative or is it a new autonomous proposal?
Yes

How will the project be organised and managed?
PYRN is primarily an initiative relying on “off-the shelf” technical resources. These web-based resources have already been secured and the management structure has been defined and implemented. PYRN will be managed entirely by young researchers. The coordination office will be based at AWI Potsdam (Germany), where the secured resources now stand, but its management structure will be highly decentralised. Each country will be responsible for finding one or two national representatives which will be responsible for collecting the information that is disseminated by PYRN. These national representatives will also participate in the promotion of PYRN by organizing PYRN-related events within their country (conferences, workshops, etc.) PYRN will act with the polar community in coordination with the IPA. It will participate in the outreach activities of the IPA by publicizing its IPY projects and encouraging young researchers to seek information or to take part in student-targeted initiatives during the IPY PYRN will work closely with the IPA Secretariat and its education activity based at the University Centre in Svalbard To date, PYRN membership has been established in 17 countries. (Russia, 41 members; Germany, 21; Canada, 17; USA, 16; Switzerland, 8; Norway, 6; Sweden, 4; Portugal, 4; UK, 4; France, 3; Japan, 2; China, 2; Uganda, 1; South Africa, 1; Poland, 1; Mongolia, 1; Italy, 1; Argentina, 1)

What are the initial plans of the project for addressing the education, outreach and communication issues outlined in the Framework document?
PYRN will address the following audiences outlined in the Framework document: young and potential new polar researchers, and the general public. PYRN will increase awareness of polar issues at educational and research institutions by bringing together young permafrost researchers from very diverse scientific fields. PYRN will also be a member of the IPY Youth Steering Committee (YSC) and will contribute to the overall outreach efforts within IPY. PYRN will instil students, engineers, and young professionals with an increased interest for the polar regions and will offer possibilities to materialize this interest into active involvement with the help of its networking efforts, research positions offers, and meeting listings. PYRN will be relying strongly on the interaction between its members, that is, on interdisciplinary exchanges and on exchanges between undergraduate, post-graduate and post-doctoral members.

What are the initial plans of the project to address data management issues (as outlined in the Framework document?
Relevant PYRN data will be managed in agreement with the IPY data policy, in particular in regard to privacy issues associated with the storage of member personal information. The database containing information on jobs, fellowships, and events will be updated regularly by the PYRN coordination office at the AWI Potsdam. These databases will be stored in html format and made accessible on the web.

How is it proposed to fund the project?
PYRN has already secured the resources for its web-based services (at the Alfred Wegener Institute-Potsdam) and will rely on other sources such as the IPA or meetings organizers to set up events and contests during conferences. PYRN’s success will be directly dependent on the involvement of its members rather than on hardware resources. Therefore, the limiting factor will not be funding.

Is there additional information you wish to provide?
PYRN members will encourage involvement of indigenous individuals. PYRN members to date come from all over the globe (see section 1.5 and 3.2). Members from nations other than traditional polar nations are encouraged to register, to get involved and to communicate with other permafrost researchers. We hope to foster interest in polar research in these nations through the networking capabilities of PYRN. PYRN is a student-driven initiative, gathering young scientists, engineers, and young professionals. Its activities are created by and geared towards young researchers. The PYRN network, because it will outlive the IPY duration will contribute strongly to the development of the next generation of polar scientists, engineers and young professionals at all levels (undergraduate, graduate, post-graduate, post-doctoral and PI) EoI's and Full Proposal links:(50),(33),(90),(364),24,168,816,1103 Countries involved: Canada,China,France,Italy,Japan,Mongolia,Norway,Poland,Portugal,Russia,South Africa,Sweden, Switzerland,Uganda,United Kingdom,USA

PROPOSER DETAILS

Mr Hugues Lantuit
AWI Potsdam
Telegrafenberg A43 Potsdam
14473
Germany

Tel: +49-331-288-2162
Mobile: no
Fax: +49-331-288-2122
Email:

Other project members and their affiliation