The 10th annual Polar Technology Conference will be hosted by the Pervasive Technology Institute of Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, on 15-17 April. Conference registration is now available. Abstracts for oral and/or poster presentations may also be submitted. Presentations in all technology fields are invited. Regular oral presentations and a poster session will be scheduled. Abstracts for oral presentations received after 14 March may not be considered. For further information, registration, or abstract submission, please go to the conference website.
The primary purpose of this conference is to bring together Polar Scientists and Technology Developers in a forum to exchange information on research system operational needs and technology solutions that have been successful in polar environments. This exchange of knowledge helps to address issues of design, implementation, and deployment for systems that are to achieve their research goals in the Polar Regions.
Past participants have come from the private sector, state and federal agencies, non-governmental organizations, and academia. Presentations generally cover system requirements for proposed research along with descriptions of systems and approaches that have been proven in polar deployments. Typical hardware and software topics have included weather stations, robotics, power systems, telemetry, and remote communications. The scale of systems ranges from the autonomous data collection towers to large scale research stations. Polar venues represented include under, on, and above the ice, tundra, or sea.
Discussions on intra- and inter-national cooperation in site deployment and maintenance are encouraged. Informal breaks allow for opportunities for networking and information exchange. A poster session is also included. We are pleased to have support from the National Science Foundation's Office of Polar Programs as an endorsement of the concept of bringing together providers and consumers of these technologies in hopes of benefiting from that synergy. Previous years' lists of presentations and participants can be found through links on the conference website.