An interdisciplinary working group (WG) has been set up to provide leadership for the CNRS as a whole, with a view to the emergence of a scientific strategy for the CNRS, and then nationally, in the polar and sub-polar fields, in consultation with the other national research players. Led by Jérôme Chappellaz, who will be working alongside me, the WG will be supported by the CNRS scientific teams, and in particular the polar affairs officers in the institutes.
The aim of this e-mail is to enable members of our laboratories who wish to do so to contribute to its work or at least to be informed of its progress. I would therefore ask each unit director to forward this e-mail to all the members of his or her laboratory.
In order to fulfil its mission and propose a national strategy to be arbitrated by the CNRS Executive Committee, the WG will focus on :
- Promote synergy between research in the polar and sub-polar zones and amplify their future ambitions;
- Draw up a national polar research roadmap based on exchanges between CNRS researchers;
- Solicit certain industrial players to develop partnerships in these regions, in line with the scientific and logistical needs expressed by CNRS and the French Polar Institute (IPEV);
- Initiate meetings between researchers and institutions (symposia, forums) to strengthen national coherence in the polar regions, with research as the guiding principle;
- Contribute to the development of an international collaboration policy (bi- or multilateral) that takes into account possible scientific synergies - taking into account France's logistical capacities - and the diplomatic context provided by the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs.
The first step for the WG is to set up a mailing list through which the CNRS can exchange information relating to polar and sub-polar research with all registered staff. To this end, the WG invites you to complete a short online questionnaire. Completing it will enable the WG to register you on the mailing list and to draw up an exhaustive overview of the forces present at national level. It will enable us to identify both staff who have been working in polar and sub-polar environments for a long time and those who are planning to do so in the future.
I strongly encourage all staff, whatever their status or the organisation to which they belong, to take part in setting up this national overview. In particular, I hope that your contribution will help to build bridges between researchers and laboratories that have long been involved in these areas (earth and universe sciences, life sciences, humanities and social sciences) and to involve other communities that can contribute particularly relevant expertise in disciplines associated with engineering, biology, physics, chemistry and computing.
Alain Schuhl, Executive Vice-President, Science