On 28 September 2011, NSF awarded CH2M HILL Constructors, Inc., of Englewood, Colorado the Arctic Research Support and Logistics Contract to provide research support and logistics services for NSF-sponsored research in the Arctic. Since 1999, CH2M HILL has teamed with subcontractors Polar Field Services and SRI International to form CH2M HILL Polar Services (CPS). A new partner, Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation's UMIAQ, will join the CPS team for the contract period beginning in October 2011.
CPS will deliver pre-proposal fieldwork estimates, risk assessments, logistics and operational plans, transportation, communications, safety training, telemedicine, engineering, design and construction, maintenance, field camp operations, and personnel to groups working in the Arctic.
UMIAQ is a subsidiary of the Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation (UIC), the Barrow village corporation established under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) of 1971. UMIAQ will provide local support to researchers working in Barrow, Alaska and surrounding communities, including operation of UIC-owned facilities and the Barrow Environmental Observatory. UMIAQ understands the politics, culture, land use, regulations, and engineering and design conditions in arctic and subarctic Alaska and provides local knowledge and expertise.
For further information about CPS, please go to: http://www.polar.ch2m.com/ or contact Mike McKibben, CPS Program Manager, at mike.mckibben@ch2m.com.
For more information about the NSF arctic research program, visit
http://www.nsf.gov/div/index.jsp?div=ARC.