Support of US Participation in the Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research (SCAR)

This program (US-SCAR) supports and strengthens U.S. participation in the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR). SCAR is an international organization established in 1958 to facilitate international collaborations in Antarctic science, and SCAR serves as an advisor to the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS). The U.S. is one of 12 founding member countries of SCAR (there are currently 44 members), and Americans have consistently played a strong role in SCAR leadership. US-SCAR promotes the progress of polar science within the U.S. and the international Antarctic scientific community by facilitating the attendance of U.S. scientists, particularly early career researchers, at the SCAR Open Science Conferences and Symposia on Biology and Earth Sciences. The U.S. National Committee for SCAR is the Polar Research Board (PRB) (US National Academies), and funding for the PRB comes from various government agencies. The PRB budget does not include funding for US-SCAR activities, however. This program absorbs a variety of costs associated with U.S. participation in SCAR, including travel to meetings, enhancing outreach capabilities, and establishing a more effective format to ensure maximum US participation in SCAR initiatives. US-SCAR provides opportunities for U.S. scientists, especially early career researchers, to 1) present their work in an international forum, 2) learn about the most recent findings on all aspects of Antarctic science, 3) establish and strengthen international contacts and collaborations, and 4) be actively involved in the development of new directions and the establishment of new frontiers in the international framework of polar science. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.