Seeking Selection Committee Members
Martha T. Muse Prize for Science and Policy in Antarctica
Tinker Foundation
Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR)
Nominations will be accepted through Monday, 1 June 2009.
For further information, please contact:
M.D. Sparrow
Email: mds68 [at] cam.ac.uk
Dear Colleagues,
On April 13, 2009, the Tinker Foundation announced creation of the
Martha T. Muse Prize for Science and Policy in Antarctica. The Prize is
a yearly, one-time, unrestricted award of USD $100,000. The Tinker
Foundation has initially committed to fund the Prize for 5 years. The
Prize was established to honor the Tinker Foundation's long-time leader,
Ms. Martha Twitchell Muse, and to provide a lasting legacy of the
International Polar Year (IPY).
The prize is intended for an early- to mid-career researcher, in any
field of Antarctic science or policy, who has demonstrated exceptional
capabilities and the potential to show significant creativity and
leadership in the future. The prize winner can be from any country and
work in any field of Antarctic science and/or policy. The goal is to
provide recognition of the outstanding and important work being done by
the individual and to call attention to the importance of understanding
Antarctica in this time of global climate change. The web site detailing
the prize and the process of nomination and selection of the Prize
recipients will be available soon. The Scientific Committee on Antarctic
Research (SCAR) will administer the prize on behalf of the Tinker
Foundation.
The next step in the process of establishing the Muse Prize is to
appoint a Selection Committee comprised of 6 members that are
representative of the geographic, discipline, and gender diversity of
the international Antarctic community. Please consider your colleagues
and peers as potential Selection Committee members. Individuals may
nominate themselves or be nominated by other individuals, agencies,
organizations, or institutions. In this first assembling of the
Selection Committee, appointment terms will be 1 to 3 years to allow for
regular rotation of committee members.
If you wish to nominate yourself or a colleague to serve on the Muse
Prize Selection Committee, please send a letter of application stating
why you (or the individual in question) should serve on the committee
and provide either a 2-page CV or a web link to a personal page that
includes explicit evidence (e.g., published papers) of the candidate's
contributions to Antarctic science and/or policy and their standing in
the community. The goal is to establish a high quality, experienced,
'blue-ribbon' panel to select prize winners.
Candidate qualification packages must be sent via email to SCAR, Attn:
M.D. Sparrow (mds68 [at] cam.ac.uk). Criteria for appointment to the
Selection Committee will include considerable experience in Antarctic
research (science or policy) and a wide knowledge of the international
Antarctic scientific and/or policy communities. Applications will be
accepted until Monday, 1 June 2009.
Thank you in advance for assisting in establishing the Muse Prize as an
important legacy of IPY.
Yours Sincerely,
Mahlon 'Chuck' Kennicutt II
President of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research