Ross A. Virginia, Director of the Institute of Arctic Studies elected Fellow of The Explorers Club

Ross A Virginia, Director of the Institute of Arctic Studies was elected a Fellow of The Explorers Club in October 2018

Founded in New York City in 1904, The Explorers Club promotes the scientific exploration of land, sea, air, and space by supporting research and education in the physical, natural and biological sciences. The Club's members have been responsible for an illustrious series of famous firsts: First to the North Pole, first to the South Pole, first to the summit of Mount Everest, first to the deepest point in the ocean, first to the surface of the moon.

The club's mission is to advance field research, scientific exploration, resource conservation, and the ideal that it is vital to preserve the instinct to explore.

Explorers Club Fellowships are "reserved for those who have distinguished themselves
by directly contributing to scientific knowledge in the field of geographical exploration or
allied sciences evidenced by scientific publications documenting fieldwork or
explorations."

Virginia has more than 20 field expeditions to the polar deserts of Antarctica. Virginia Valley in the Olympus Range of Southern Victoria Land Antarctica is named in his honor for this work. In the Arctic his research and teaching in Greenland explores climate change impacts on tundra and permafrost soils.

Vilhjalmur Stefansson, famed Arctic explorer and founder of Dartmouth's Northern Studies program was twice President of the Explorers Club, 1919-22 and 1937-39. "It is an honor to join the many distinguished explorers and researchers who are recognized by the Explorers Club and to support the spirit of exploration that I see in my students at Dartmouth" said Virginia.