Greetings from ARCUS headquarters in snow-covered Fairbanks!

Dr. Robert Rich

The Arctic Research Consortium of the United States (ARCUS) is dedicated to connecting Arctic research across boundaries, and has been for more than 25 years. We work to support communication, coordination, and collaboration between researchers, among institutions, spanning disciplines, bridging sectors, and connecting nations. Witness the Arctic is one of many offerings we provide.

Since I last wrote, ARCUS has been very busy. We convened the Arctic Observing Open Science Meeting in November that brought a wide range of researchers and funders to Seattle. We kicked off the eleventh year of PolarTREC, enabling teachers from around the country to become a part of an Arctic or Antarctic research expedition and inspire their teaching and that of their colleagues. We inaugurated the Arctic Research D.C. Seminar/Webinar Series, which allows some of the leading Arctic researchers to meet with Washington policymakers and others to discuss the latest discoveries.

We continued management of our widely acclaimed ArcticInfo listserv, hosted numerous meetings in our Arctic space at the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, and facilitated a good half dozen workshops on topics ranging from permafrost to sea ice to the Greenland ice sheet.

ARCUS is a member-focused organization and we invite you to join us. We expanded access to ARCUS membership to all types of organizations and to individuals interested in championing the study of this important region. This includes academic institutions, government agencies, corporations, indigenous organizations, and not-for-profits. Dues are not high, as we seek to represent and engage all those working toward better understanding of the Arctic and the application of that knowledge to decision-making. For more information on ARCUS and how to get involved, please view our new ARCUS video here.

I hope that you find value in this special federal programs issue of Witness the Arctic. Feel free to contact me with any ideas that you have for future content, or any other suggestions that ARCUS could pursue to better help you connect across boundaries. I'd love to hear from you at bob [at] arcus.org.

Thank you for everything that you do in support of Arctic research.

Robert H. Rich, Ph.D., CAE