Arctic Science Summit Week (ASSW) 2007 will be held at Dartmouth College, March 14-20, 2007. An annual international meeting, this marks the first time that ASSW has been held in the United States. The Institute of Arctic Studies within the Dickey Center for International Understanding at Dartmouth College along with the DoD's U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center Cold Regions Research and Engineering Lab (CRREL) were selected to host ASSW by the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC); IASC is the adhering organization to the International Council for Science (ICSU). The timing of ASSW falls at the start of International Polar Year 2007-2008, which increases the visibility and importance of ASSW as an internationally significant science event. Expected attendance for ASSW is 250-300 with a great number of participants from outside the United States. The meeting will advance Arctic research and more generally polar science from the discussion, planning, and synthesis that will come from the week long meeting of the major international Arctic science planning and logistic organizations. Organizations that will meet during ASSW are IASC, Arctic Ocean Science Board (AOSB), Forum of Arctic Research Operators (FARO), U.S. Polar Research Board, Ny-Alesund Science managers Committee, European Polar Board. This meeting is directly relevant to the International Polar Year 2007-2008. The ASSW 2007 in Hanover has been approved by the ICSU-WMO IPY committee as an official IPY Project (Project 160). Hosting the ASSW 2007 in the U.S. at the start of the International Polar Year meets the recommendations of the NRC Vision for the International Polar Year 2007-2008 Report (NRC, 2004) through Recommendation 7: The U.S. should participate as leaders in the IPY, and through Recommendation 6: The U.S. IPY effort should engage the public to increase understanding of the importance of the polar regions in the global system.
