University seeks name for Alaska Region Research Vessel

Submitted by Carin Stephens
Phone: 907-322-8730
07/24/09

When completed in 2014, the Alaska Region Research Vessel will be one of the most technologically advanced oceanographic vessels in the world.

But it is missing something: a name.

The University of Alaska Fairbanks is asking the public to submit ideas for the name of the research vessel. Please send your name ideas to shipname@sfos.uaf.edu by Sept. 1, 2009.

The ARRV will be a 242-foot research vessel capable of breaking ice up to 2.5 feet thick and is designed for scientific research in arctic and subarctic waters. Once completed, the university hopes to dock the ARRV in Seward.

The ARRV name selection committee asks that names be appropriate for a ship dedicated to marine science in Alaska. Terry Whitledge, principal investigator for the ARRV project, suggests that name ideas could "reflect something evocative of the polar regions, Alaskana, an outstanding marine scientist, or some oceanographic feature."

The name committee will meet regularly to consider potential names for the vessel. The final name recommendation will be approved by the dean of the UAF School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, the UAF chancellor and the National Science Foundation.

Whitledge says he hopes a name will be selected and approved by October.

Although the committee will consider all submissions, the name selection process is not a contest.

For more information on the ARRV, please visit www.sfos.uaf.edu/arrv.

About SFOS
The UAF School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences conducts world-class marine and fisheries research, education and outreach across Alaska, the Arctic and Antarctic. Sixty faculty scientists and 150 students are engaged in building knowledge about Alaska and the world’s coastal and marine ecosystems. SFOS is headquartered at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and serves the state from facilities located in Seward, Juneau, Anchorage and Kodiak.