About the Polar Institute
As the polar regions become more important socially, politically, economically, and environmentally, the Polar Institute addresses the practical questions and policy challenges facing the United States, Alaska, and citizens of the North. Current topics of priority include: shipping, port development, and infrastructure; environmental security; icebreakers and maritime capabilities; economic development; Arctic and Antarctic governance; telecommunications; domain awareness and national security; Alaska's role as America's Arctic state, and its unique needs, challenges, and opportunities; public understanding of, and appreciation for, the importance of the polar regions to our global environment, and; the Arctic-Asia-Pacific Rim nexus.
The Polar Institute addresses these issues through workshops, public events, policy forums, position papers, and other deliverables—leveraging community, domestic, and international partners to create a platform for in-depth, holistic analysis of the polar regions.
Polar Institute Reading List
What We're Reading
The Polar Institute's Reading List staff book reviews offer reflections on books which have contributed to our understanding of the complex dynamics shaping the Arctic and Antarctic.
Learn MoreProgram Staff
Fellows
CDR William Albright
Betsy Baker
Principal, Baker Arctic Consulting
Evan T. Bloom
Former Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Oceans and Fisheries and Director for Ocean and Polar Affairs, US Department of State
Mathieu Boulègue
Consulting Fellow, Chatham House; Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Center for European Policy Analysis
Anne-Marie Brady
Professor, University of Canterbury and Executive Editor of The Polar Journal
Lawson W. Brigham
Fellow, Center for Arctic Study & Policy, U.S. Coast Guard Academy
Peter Carey
Director, SubAntarctic Foundation for Ecosystems Research
Douglas Causey
Professor, University of Alaska Anchorage
Peter Davies
Director Emeritus, Sandia National Laboratories
Heather Exner-Pirot
Senior Fellow, Macdonald-Laurier Institute, Canada
Sherri Goodman
Author, Threat Multiplier: Climate, Military Leadership & the Fight for Global Security.
Alf Håkon Hoel
Professor of Ocean Law and Policy, College of Fisheries Science, University of Tromsø - the Arctic University of Norway; Adjunct Professor, Institute of Marine Research
Randy Kee
Senior Advisor, Arctic Security Affairs, Ted Stevens Center for Arctic Security Affairs, U.S. Department of Defense
David M. Kennedy
Commissioner, US Arctic Research Commission
Katarina Kertysova
Policy Fellow, European Leadership Network (ELN)
Lyston Lea
Martin Nweeia
Lecturer, Harvard University; Assistant Professor, Case Western Reserve University; Research Associate, Smithsonian Institution; Research Associate, Canadian Museum of Nature
Tina Pidgeon
Principal, Tina Pidgeon Strategies
Kristina Spohr
Professor, London School of Economics and Political Sciences
Jim Townsend
Adjunct Senior Fellow, Transatlantic Security Council, Center for a New American Security; former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Europe and NATO
Tero Vauraste
Regional Director Europe and Senior Advisor, Iceye Oy, Chief Executive Officer, Mariadi Ltd; Arctic Circle Emissary; Member of the Board, Finnish Arctic Society; Advisory Board Member, Finnish Life Boat Institute
Ross A. Virginia
Myers Family Professor of Environmental Science and Director of the Institute of Arctic Studies within the Dickey Center for International Understanding at Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA
Hon. Kenneth S. Yalowitz
Former U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Belarus from 1994-1997 and to Georgia from 1998-2001; former Career Diplomat and Member of the Senior Foreign Service, U.S. Department of State; former Director of the Dickey Center for International Understanding, Dartmouth College
