International Polar Year:

Research and Educational Opportunities in Antarctica for Minorities

IPY-ROAM is the "International Polar Year - Research and Educational Opportunities in Antarctica for Minorities" program hosted by the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). The International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-2009 is an intense, internationally coordinated scientific campaign that is focused on increasing our understanding of the polar regions and stimulating a new era in polar science.

Through a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), we are offering a novel and life-changing opportunity for university students and high-school teachers to learn more about the Polar Regions and travel to Antarctica to acquire first hand experience in field-based research and Antarctic system science. We are accepting applications from 15 undergraduate students, 5 graduate students, and 5 high school teachers from US institutions and from multiple disciplines to participate in this program – IPY-ROAM.

IPY-ROAM participants will take part in a series of on-line preparatory lectures during the Fall of 2007 plus a three-day field trip to Washington DC, where they will meet with a range of experts in the polar sciences, policy and tourism. The capstone activity for IPY-ROAM is a 3-week field trip to southern Argentina and Antarctica over winter break 2007-8. Traveling aboard a tourist ship, we will visit the Antarctic Peninsula, where participants will complete hands-on field based research projects they have designed with the aid of mentors. Participants will also have the opportunity to participate in a range of community outreach activities and curriculum development during and after their trip to Antarctica.

A UTEP Centennial Museum Display.