16. desember 2024 nyhet

Many Akvaplan-niva scientists have throughout the years been very active in The Arctic Marine Ecosystem Research Network (ARCTOS), including leadership of the network. Now one Akvaplan-niva scientist is ending his term in the management and another taking over.

More than two decades after its foundation, the ARCTOS network has transitioned to a female leadership, marking a generation change. Sünnje Basedow (professor at UiT – The Arctic University of Norway) and Eva Leu (senior researcher at Akvaplan-niva) take over for Rolf Gradinger and Paul Renaud who have been leading this successful network for the past years.

From the left: ARCTOS secretary Anna Miettinen (UiT), Eva Leu (Akvaplan-niva), Sünnje Basedow (UiT), Paul Renaud (Akvaplan-niva), and Rolf Gradinger (UiT). Picture by Christine Dybwad (UiT).

ARCTOS was founded in 2001 with the aim to enhance collaboration in Arctic marine biology across universities and research institutions in Northern Norway. It has helped greatly to make this research more visible internationally and has provided a home for several generations of early career scientists over the past decade and strengthened the collaboration of researchers across institutions. Over the years, the network has widened to include also research from disciplines adjacent to marine biology (e.g. physical and chemical oceanography, ecotoxicology), as well as Polar marine research in the Antarctic.

More than 100 members commit to the network creating an inspiring and inclusive environment that has fostered various research initiatives (e.g., the Polar Front project) and important meeting places (e.g., Arctic Frontiers). Sünnje and Eva have both been members in the network since their early career scientist phase, and they are now both looking forward to collaborate on leading the network together with colleagues from all member institutions in the ARCTOS secretariat: UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Akvaplan-niva, the Norwegian Polar Institute, the Institute of Marine Research, UNIS – The University Centre in Svalbard and Nord University. The official transition to the new leadership was marked during the annual Christmas lunch in Tromsø in December.