8
Concluding Thoughts

A common thread throughout the workshop was a desire among many participants to increase collaboration between scientists and engineers, between logistic technicians and science, and between industry and academia. Several participants were encouraged that the new National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP) may be a resource to address some of the ideas being proposed during the workshop. It could be a place to get traction on ideas that involve elements of both basic research and applied technology development.

Many participants showed an interest in the idea of systematically gathering and sharing the experiences that polar researchers are gaining, in particular with power and communication systems. One participant recommended that the new Polar Technology Community forum could energize the development of a Wiki platform or something comparable. Participants noted that many groups are doing different things with a lot of experience to share, and a Wiki could better disseminate the lessons learned.

A few other participants had related ideas for developing “grassroots communities” that work together to advance specific technology needs, and to share what they learned and what has and has not worked in their experience. Such groups could include both those who need cutting-edge power options for their research and those who work in logistics and operations who must provide power for research support at broader levels. Some participants noted that these groups could seek out industry participation and facilitate discussions with companies such as Starlink. Likewise, there could be benefits to building a community to identify collective needs for data transmission and communication, and discussing those needs as a group with relevant industry partners. Ultimately, several participants recognized that community communication is key across all issues, whether it is power, sensor design, or communication.

Another thread throughout the meeting was the importance of structures to facilitate the sharing of information and experience across the broader community as a way to prevent “reinventing the wheel.” Several participants noted the value of having science and engineering teams integrated from the outset of a project so that the technology development and science goals can advance together in real time.

Participants also suggested pursuing opportunities to learn from other research communities that have been more successful in fostering the involvement of diverse participants, and broadening the participation of people with different types of disabilities. For instance, people working in agriculture are finding ways to allow people who have been disabled to work with customized equipment.

Regarding Internet and data communications, some participants echoed speakers’ comments about looking for alternatives to Iridium communication, including low Earth orbit satellites such as Starlink. Some participants highlighted the need to find an appropriate balance between telemetry costs and

total science operation costs. One participant noted that there could be possibilities to coordinate with other organizations working on this issue (e.g., the World Meteorological Organization satellite communications working group).

Additionally, many participants would like to see all Antarctic research technology be open source, so new solutions discovered are available for others to use and capitalize on. One participant suggested the development of a new interagency cyberinfrastructure to facilitate sharing of data that cross different agencies, programs, and platforms to help lower data access barriers and facilitate more open science. Another participant suggested finding strategies to better harness existing data curation facilities. Another noted that the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research’s integrated data repositories are open to data scientists for accelerating data analytics and scientific discovery.

Lastly, there was great interest in finding strategies to reduce the environmental footprint of Antarctic science—through improving autonomous instrument operations and thus requiring fewer trips to the field; and through reducing power needs and utilizing cleaner power generation, in particular, expanding the use of renewable power technologies. While it was acknowledged that challenges remain in applying wind power to the Antarctic setting, many participants thought that the approach holds great promise and is worthy of further investment.

In the workshop closing session, Allen Pope, NSF, expressed how exciting it was to hear about the diverse technology developments being explored and implemented across the research community and to hear all of the insights on how these developments happen. He noted that some of the themes most frequently raised in the discussions included the importance of different kinds of test beds (in field-based, lab-controlled, and virtual settings) and the benefits of platforms and mechanisms to facilitate information sharing and building connections between industry and academia and between researchers and technologists.

He pointed to several NSF funding opportunities that researchers could explore for supporting future technology development efforts, including the “Ideas Lab” solicitations; the TIP programs (see Box 1), particularly a new “Pathways to Open Source Ecosystems” solicitation,¹ the Convergence Accelerator program,² the Small Business Innovation Research awards,³ the NSF Regional Innovation Engines program,⁴ and Research Coordination Network awards.⁵ Finally, he noted that the NSF Office of Polar Programs’ Arctic and Antarctic Program office hours provide opportunities to raise questions and continue dialogue on all of these workshop topics.

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¹ See https://beta.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/pathways-enable-open-source-ecosystems-pose.

² See https://beta.nsf.gov/funding/initiatives/convergence-accelerator.

³ See https://www.sbir.gov/funding.

⁴ See https://beta.nsf.gov/funding/initiatives/regional-innovation-engines.

⁵ See https://beta.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/research-coordination-networks.

Planning committee chair Diane McKnight, University of Colorado Boulder, closed the workshop by thanking everyone involved and expressing hope that this event would be a launching point for more ongoing community action across industry, academia, and government agencies.

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