+ Early Career Forum
Periodically and the Early Career Forum will share research from, and opportunities for, early career researchers working in the polar regions. This regular round-up aims to highlight and celebrate the work being done by early career researchers in Arctic research. If you have information you would like to submit, please see the link below.
Are you or do you know an early career researcher who has recently published work related to the Arctic? We at and the Early Career Forum want to highlight your work! Please fill out this form with any Arctic publications, webinars, posters, etc. and we will share on the Early Career Forum and with our Twitter followers. Anyone who identifies as early career is eligible to submit! Any questions? Email usapecs@gmail.com for more information. Submit documents here: https://forms.gle/S1Gd3jpE4CtSoY6Y6
Publications
Eayrs, Clare and Zachary M. Labe (2026) 2.17 - The future of sea ice in Comprehensive Cryospheric Science and Environmental Change (First Edition), Eds. Scott A. Elias and Richard Kelly, Elsevier, Pages 366-400, ISBN 9780323858939. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-85242-5.00050-6
Keywords: Arctic, Antarctic, sea ice, climate change
Author website/social media:https://zacklabe.com/, https://bsky.app/profile/zacklabe.com
Ivanova, Anna (2026). Actor participation in the Arctic Council, 1998–2025: a new data set. Polar Research, 45. https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v45.12979
Keywords: Arctic governance, observers, attendance records, international cooperation
Dataset: https://arcticdata.io/catalog/view/doi:10.18739/A24T6F52J
Author website/social media: https://www.thearcticinstitute.org/expert/anna-ivanova/
Opportunities
Early Career Community of Practice Leadership Opportunity
Collaborations is seeking a volunteer co-lead for the Early Career Community of Practice. The new co-lead will join an amazing leadership team alongside Angela Bliss (), Samantha Halstead Santez (University of Maryland), Monika Sikand (The City University of New York), Mindy Price (Macalester College), and Michael Gallagher (University of Colorado Boulder). This is an excellent opportunity for postdocs or students doing Arctic research to join the Collaborations team.
The Early Career Community of Practice encourages sharing information, news, and events relevant to early career development and to foster connections within the Arctic sciences.
In particular, we are seeking a co-lead with interest in taking over facilitation of the Collaborations Mentorship Program for the 2026-27 cohort. A bulk of the program preparation will take place over the summer months, with the program officially launching this fall.
Additionally, team leaders work with to develop regular newsletters promoting recent early career research publications and sharing training, job, funding, and collaboration opportunities relevant to community members. Within , the community of practice promotes participation in monthly meetings and webinars and to report on early career efforts that contribute to deliverables of the Arctic Research Plan. More information about the Early Career Community of Practice is available here.
Co-leader Responsibilities:
Community of Practice leaders have cyclical and ongoing responsibilities that include:
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Leading the community of practice in a thoughtful way
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Regularly communicating and working in a collaborative way with fellow co-leads
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Acting as a resource and coordinator for community members’ questions and ideas on community of practice activities
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Planning team activities for coming year
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Reaching out to potential speakers for community meetings and working with co-leads and Secretariat on meeting agendas and announcements
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Organizing and chairing community of practice meetings
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Supporting reporting on community of practice activities
Co-leads can expect to devote between 6 and 10 hours per month on average to their leadership role. We ask applicants to be prepared to commit to serve at least two years as a co-lead. If there are unforeseen circumstances that require team leaders to step down before two years, we request they help find a replacement in discussion with the other co-leads. All those selected to be co-leads will be trained and onboarded.
To apply:
Please email Toni (toni@iarpccollaborations.org) with the following information by June 15th, 2026:
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Brief statement of intent stating why you are applying for a leadership role, what you hope to gain from the leadership experience, and what you want to contribute to the Early Career Community of Practice
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Up to date resume/CV
Apply for ExCom
APPLY for the Executive Committee to help shape our organization and influence the future of polar research!
The elections for the 2026-2027 Executive Committee will be held during May, June and July 2026 for the term from 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2027.
Application deadline: 15 June 2026 at 23:59 GMT
The Executive Committee (ExCom) consists of five members, who are elected by the Council to manage strategic decisions and governance of the organization. You can find information about the ExCom on the website and in the Handbook, including some general information and the list of current ExCom members.
2026 Elections timeline:
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15 June at 23:59 GMT: Application deadline
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16 June - 3 July: Review period within the Council, including Q&A with ExCom applicants
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3 July - 17 July at 23:59 GMT: Voting period within the Council
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20 July: Candidates notified of election results
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August & September: Onboarding and transition process
Who is eligible to apply?
The Executive Committee is a rewarding, very high-paced and work-intensive committee, and its members must be willing and able to contribute actively throughout their term on a frequent basis via email (multiple times per week, except during e.g. field work, exam periods, holidays) and attend online ExCom meetings (ca. 2 hours) every two weeks. We encourage members with prior experience from the Executive Committee, Council, or the leadership of one of ’ National Committees or Project Groups, as well as individuals that held equivalent positions in other organizations to apply.
Go to the Executive Committee Elections page to see the full election announcement, including eligibility criteria, how to apply and a more detailed explanation of the election process.
Is this the first time you want to get active in ? In order to be a successful member of the Executive Committee, a thorough understanding of ’ activities, projects, and internal processes is required, as one of your roles will be to mentor and advise Council members, Project Groups, and representatives. If you have not been actively involved in before, we recommend that you gain some experience through a position on the Council, in the leadership of a National Committee, or in a Project Group first before applying for the Executive Committee.
If you have any questions, please contact the ExCom Elections Coordinators 2026 at excom-elections@apecs.is.
Early Career Scientist on Arctic Icebreaker Coordinating Committee
seeks nominations and self-nominations to fill the newly created Early Career Scientist open position on its Arctic Icebreaker Coordinating Committee () for a two-year term starting in the fall of 2026. This Early Career Scientist member of the will serve in a non-voting role.
The , a committee of the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System (), serves a liaison function by providing oversight and advice to the National Science Foundation Polar Programs and to U.S. research icebreaker operators, for the purpose of enhancing scientific facilities and capabilities aboard U.S. research icebreakers, primarily the USCGCHealy (operator: United States Coast Guard) and the RV Sikuliaq (operator: University of Alaska Fairbanks). The solicits, synthesizes, and presents the needs of the Arctic science community to the icebreaker operators and to the , fulfilling an ombudsman role when necessary and facilitating the efficient and effective execution of scientific research by U.S. icebreakers. The provides information to the scientific community to facilitate national and international research projects on Arctic icebreakers. The promotes new technology for Arctic assets to maintain cutting-edge capability of these research facilities.
The accomplishes these tasks through email discussions, telephone debriefs of current-year research cruises, annual in-person meetings, and telephone/video conferences. The Annual Meeting is typically held early in the calendar year at Coast Guard Base Seattle, where the USCGCHealy is based. Additional teleconferences are scheduled in summer and fall. Travel costs for members for these meetings are supported through the office.
is currently seeking applications for one new Early Career Scientist member willing to help the Arctic scientific community meet these needs over a two-year term starting in fall 2026. Applicants/nominees who self-identify as early career may apply, with loose guidance of “early career” as typically defined within 7 years of Ph.D.
Nominees should be early career polar scientists at U.S. institutions with an expertise in chemical, physical, biological or geological oceanography, in meteorology, or in ocean cryosphere science; with polar field experience and particularly icebreaker experience; and a record of Arctic research.
Application packages should include:
A current CV,
A statement of interest to serve on the that includes a summary of:
- Polar research field experience,
- Polar research publication record; and
- Expression of interest in the 's activities.
Interested applicants are invited to submit their applications to the Office by e-mail (doug@unols.org) by 15 June 2026.
For further information about the , please visit: https://www.unols.org/committee/arctic-icebreaker-coordinating-committee-aicc or contact the Chair, Dr. Laurie Juranek (laurie.juranek@oregonstate.edu) or Executive Secretary, Doug Russell (doug@unols.org) with questions.
EGU Cryosphere Division social media manager
We are looking for a volunteer to join the EGU Cryosphere Division Early Career's team as our social media manager.
Are you passionate about cryosphere science and eager to get more involved in the community? Do you feel comfortable managing social media accounts? If so, this might be the perfect opportunity for you.
What the role involves:
- Managing our accounts on Bluesky, LinkedIn, and Instagram
- Promoting our regular blog posts and upcoming events
- Communicating relevant policy updates to our community
If you are interested, know someone who would be a great fit for the role or have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to Mack (mbaysinger at agro.au.dk) or Leah (leah-sophie.muhle at uni-tuebingen.de).
We look forward to hearing from you!
Mack & Leah
Other Announcements
Help shape outreach and science communication training for polar ECRs
South Africa, Mexico, the UK Polar Network, France, and Uruguay, are running a global survey on outreach and science communication in polar science.
We are collecting responses to understand what kinds of outreach and communication training polar ECRs actually need, what barriers we face, and what support would make it easier to get involved. The results will be used to help shape future training resources, and will also feed into a workshop at 2026.
This survey is for all polar ECRs, including people who do not currently take part in outreach and is available in English, French, and Spanish.
We would really appreciate your input, and please do share it with other polar ECRs in your networks.
For further details, please reach out at: outreachsurvey@polarnetwork.org
