A $29,740 grant will support the acquisition of new field equipment for JIRP student training in Polar Earth systems sciences.

Juneau, Alaska – The Foundation for Glacier & Environmental Research which supports the Juneau Icefield Research Program is excited about a new partnership with Battelle.  JIRP was recently awarded a $29,740 grant from Battelle to purchase new computers, virtual reality headsets, 360-degree cameras, drones, iPhones with LiDAR capabilities, and a site license for a sophisticated mapping software package.  This hardware and software will be used by JIRP in partnership with the University of Maine, University of Alaska Southeast, University of Alaska-Fairbanks Toolik Field Station, and several Department of Education-funded Upward Bound Programs across the United States to train upwards of 500 students between 2023-2025.  These students will learn to collect, analyze, and interpret 3-dimensional data for Polar and Earth systems science applications.  In addition, UMaine participants on this grant will use some of the equipment to collect visual observations across multiple locations in Antarctica that they access via National Science Foundation funding.  This Antarctic imagery will also be shared with these students and be made widely available to other education-outreach programs interested in teaching students about Polar and Antarctic sciences.      

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