Smithsonian at the Poles: Contributions to International Polar

xii SMITHSONIAN AT THE POLES
Change and Polar Marine Ecosystems, and Polar Astronomy:
Observational Cosmology) and panel discussions; an
evening public cinematic event presented by Adam Ravetch
and Norbert Wu; and a keynote presentation by James W.
C. White (University of Colorado, Boulder). The fi rst ever
Smithsonian polar science assembly that covered both the
Arctic and Antarctica, Smithsonian at the Poles featured
more than 200 scholars, members of the public, agency representatives
from the Smithsonian, NSF, NOAA, numerous
U.S. universities, Australia, and Germany.
The symposium was originally pledged in 2005 by the
Offi ce of the Under Secretary for Science in addition to
an educational exhibit on Arctic climate change, Arctic:
A Friend Acting Strangely (2006), access to the Smithsonian
polar collections, and the use of the Smithsonian facilities
for IPY-related public activities (Anonymous, 2005;
Krupnik, 2006). The Smithsonian Institution is pleased
to contribute this summary of the Institution’s research
around the Poles. 2
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The National Science Foundation contributed funding
in support of this polar science symposium under Grant
No. 0731478 to Michael A. Lang, Principal Investigator,
Smithsonian Offi ce of the Under Secretary for Science.
NOTES
1. The Smithsonian at the Poles symposium was part of the IPY
2007–2008, a joint initiative of the International Council for Sciences
(ICSU) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Scholars
from more than 60 nations participated in some 250 projects under the
IPY 2007–2008 science program.
2. More details related to the symposium program are available on
the symposium website at www.si.edu/ipy, the offi cial U.S. site www.ipy.
gov, in Smithsonian Institution press releases, and in the news media.
LITERATURE CITED
Anonymous. 2005. U.S. Arctic Research Plan. Biennial Revision: 2006–
2010. Arctic Research of the United States, 19 (Fall–Winter):20–
21.
Krupnik, I. 2006. Smithsonian Institution. Arctic Research of the United
States, 20:142–146.