Ross A. Virginia

Ross A. Virginia is an ecosystem ecologist at Dartmouth College, holding the Myers Family Professor of Environmental Science and serving as Director of the Institute of Arctic Studies at the Dickey Center for International Understanding. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Biological Sciences and Earth Sciences and a U.S. Fulbright Arctic Initiative Distinguished Co-Lead Scholar. His research spans biogeochemical cycles in polar deserts and tundra, with a focus on climate change impacts on soils and vegetation.

Virginia leads major NSF-funded programs such as the Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) and Joint Science Education Program (JSEP), fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and Arctic policy engagement. He has been instrumental in expanding Dartmouth's environmental studies program and establishing international partnerships through the University of the Arctic Institute for Arctic Policy.

• Key research themes: climate change effects on polar ecosystems
• Policy leadership in Arctic Council initiatives
• Fieldwork in Antarctica's McMurdo Dry Valleys over 13 seasons

Scientific recognition includes:

• Fellow of The Explorers Club
• Global Fellow at the Polar Institute, Woodrow Wilson Center
• Valley in Antarctica named after him by US-ACAN (2004)