Scot scoops Tromso role

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Dr Finlo Cottier, head of the Physics and Technology Department at the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS), was awarded the adjunct position as recognition for his participation in a decade of Arctic research projects and encouraging closer working links between Scottish and Norwegian researchers.

 

He has also helped to develop the Arctic science degree run by SAMS through the University of the Highlands and Islands and alongside the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS).

 

The professorship announcement comes ahead of this week’s UK Arctic Science Meeting in Sheffield.

Dr Cottier is currently working with Norwegian colleagues on two new Arctic research programmes – Arctic ABC and FAABulous – worth a combined £4.7m and says that international co-operation on major projects will help answer many of the big questions about the Arctic region.

 

Welcoming a recent announcement of £16m in research grants from the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), the UK’s environmental science funding council, Dr Cottier reflected: “There is still much to learn about the Arctic, particularly during the polar night and how Arctic ecology will respond to retreating sea ice, but we are making numerous important discoveries with each project, thanks to collaborations with international partners.

 

“The Arctic is one of the most undiscovered areas of the planet and our drive to understand it requires us to work together, not separately.

 

“I take a great deal of personal satisfaction in receiving this adjunct professorship from the University of Tromso, the Arctic University of Norway, but I think it is more a recognition for the Arctic research being done at SAMS as a whole.

 

“I hope this can help develop a relationship between the two institutions, which share a natural alliance and a common interest in the research areas of aquaculture and oceanography, as well as the Arctic.”

 

Professor Jørgen Berge, of the University of Tromso, said: “Through long-term co-operation with SAMS on ocean observatories on Svalbard we now have an unbroken time series of physical and biological measurements from 2002, so this alliance has proven exceptionally valuable.

 

“Dr Cottier has been the key player since the start of this co-operation. Based on this long and close history of co-operation, and considering the research challenges and opportunities that lie before us, I am convinced that our future is even greater than our past.”

 

Newly-appointed SAMS Director, Professor Nicholas Owens, said: “As well as being a well-deserved personal accolade for Finlo, the award of his Professorship reflects the considerable investment SAMS has made over the years in developing an internationally strong Arctic research programme.

 

“Although the Arctic may seem very distant to us here in the UK, the region has important influences on our weather, climate and marine ecosystems. I look forward to this award strengthening the links between SAMS and the University of Tromso and the enhancement of research in the Arctic.”