UCSB marine biologist Gretchen Hofmann was one of five researchers chosen to speak last week at the opening ceremonies in Washington, D.C., of the International Polar Year, 2007-08.

The International Polar Year (IPY) is a coordinated campaign of observations, research, and analysis that is multidisciplinary in scope and international in participation. It includes biological, ecological, and social science elements as well as an educational component.

Hofmann, an associate professor of ecology, evolution, and marine biology, specializes in the effects of environmental stress, such as ocean warming and acidification, on marine animals. She has led several field expeditions to Antarctica and is part of a small but hardy group of UCSB polar research specialists.

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) sponsored the ceremonies. Remarks ranged from the nature and scope of U.S. IPY research to comments from government officials whose agencies play a role in the regions.

In addition to the four other polar scientists, participants included Arden L. Bement, Jr., NSF director; Ralph Cicerone, NAS president; James Connaughton, chairman, White House Council on Environmental Quality; Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration administrator; and Mark Myers, director, U.S. Geological Survey.

Science teachers from the United States, Germany, Italy or New Zealand also have the opportunity to participate directly in IPY in Antarctica. Though applications to this year’s program closed last month, teachers can join an international scientific drilling project as part of ANDRILL Research Immersion for Science Educators (ARISE) Program.

ANDRILL is investigating Antarctica’s role in global environmental change over the past 65 million years. This year it will penetrate the seafloor beneath Antarctica’s Ross Ice Shelf. For details, go to <http://www.andrill.org/education/arise>.

Coastal marine ecosystems are particularly vulnerable to global climate change. Hofmann’s research centers on sea urchins and mussels. One focus is on the effects of temperature stress and low pH, due to ocean acidification, on adults and early developmental stages. She also studies a fish that lives in Antarctic waters.