The event will be held at the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) auditorium, 2100 C Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. It is sponsored by the NAS and the National Science Foundation (NSF). The ceremony will be webcast live.

In addition to Hofmann, the event will include remarks from four other polar scientists about the nature and scope of U.S. International Polar Year (IPY) research, as well as remarks from government officials whose agencies play an active role in IPY.

Confirmed participants include 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; Mark Myers, director, U.S. Geological Survey; and Mead Treadwell, U.S. Arctic Research Commission chair.

The International Polar Year is an intense, coordinated campaign of polar observations, research, and analysis that is multidisciplinary in scope and international in participation. It will include biological, ecological, and social science elements.

Information about the event is available through the NAS at
http://us-ipy.org/ipy-evreg.php.