International Polar Year 2007–2008 - WMO

Box 1 Tribute to Edith Fanta (1944 –2008)
It was with great sadness that we learned about the
untimely death of one of the JC members, Dr. Edith
(Edith Susana Elisabeth) Fanta on 7 May 2008 (Fig. 1.5-
2). We knew that Edith’s health had been deteriorating
for some years and had forced her to skip some of the
JC meetings in 2007, but it did not prevent her from
being very active in various functions, among others as
Chair of the Scientific Committee of the Commission
on Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources
(CCAMLR). Edith was the principal organizer of the
9th SCAR International Biology Symposium in 2005 on
her home turf at the Universidade Federal do Paraná in
Fig .1.5-2.
Edith Fanta
at the JC-4
meeting in
Svalbard,
September
2006.
(Photo: Cynan Ellis-
Evans)
More on Edith Fanta
Edith Fanta. Obituary. Polar Record 2009 45(234):288
www.ats.aq/devPH/noticia_completa.aspx?IdNews=13&lang=e
http://classic.ipy.org/international/joint-committee/fanta.pdf
www.ipy.org/news-a-announcements/item/1615-edith-fanta
Setting the IPY Program: Evaluating
‘Expressions of Intent’: January-March
2005
The rising IPY momentum in early 2005 saw a flood
of online (and offline) submissions of ‘Expressions of
Intent’ (EoI) for IPY projects. Unlike the two previous
calls for IPY “ideas” in September 2003 and March 2004
(Chapter 1.3), EoI submissions were requested against
a standard template. It was also made clear that EoIs
were only the first stage in the IPY endorsement
process and that successful applicants would need
to submit a full proposal by June 2005. Between 5
Curitiba, Brazil, the first in South America. She was also
a member of the Brazilian team on the SCAR Standing
Scientific Group on Life Sciences and a member of
the IPY project on Evolution and Biodiversity in the
Antarctic (EBA, IPY no. 137) providing Brazilian input
to this IPY venture.
Edith was strongly involved in the protection of the
Antarctic environment, in research on international
treaties for environmental protection and in building
research capacity in the region, particularly by and
for scientists from the South American nations. She
stimulated many colleagues to devote time to Antarctica
as she did for over 25 years. Edith deeply cared about
science education and about bringing younger scholars,
particularly women, to polar research.
Edith was a delightful person – always friendly and
good-humored, always trying to solve disputes in a
harmonious way, but never allowing herself to be pushed
aside in a discussion. She leaves behind an empty space,
not least because of the enthusiasm with which she
undertook her scientific and management activities. She
will not be easily replaced.
Edith was more than just a colleague: she was our friend.
She was also a mighty presence at the JC meetings
– hard-working, focused and with a strong sense of
responsibility for the region and the field of science she
represented. Edith was the only member of the JC who
did not live to see IPY 2007–2008 completed, but her
place in its history is solidly secured.
November 2004 and 14 January 2005, almost 900
EoI proposals were submitted to the IPY Programme
Office in Cambridge. Of those, 869 were eventually
evaluated by the JC members and their assessment
was finalized in March 2005 (see below).
At the IPO, the Interim Director Cynan Ellis-Evans
undertook to compile all the EoIs onto a searchable
online database (http://classic.ipy.org/development/
eoi/index.htm) to provide the research community,
national IPY committees and funding agencies with
a full range of IPY proposals. This accessible and
transparent approach encouraged more submissions.
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