Andrey Petrov is a professor of geography at the ARCTICenter - University of Northern Iowa. He serves as a director of the Arctic, Cold, and Remote Territories Interdisciplinary Center (ARCTICenter) and leads multiple international research initiatives focusing on resilience and sustainability in the Arctic. Among them are Alaska Coastal Cooperative for Co-producing Transformative Ideas and Opportunities in the North (ACTION), Measuring Urban Sustainability in Transition (MUST), Frozen Commons and others.
Dr. Petrov has held leadership roles in several key Arctic science organizations, including serving as President of the International Arctic Social Sciences Association (IASSA) and Chair of the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) Social and Human Working Group. His contributions to the Arctic Council’s Sustainable Development Working Group (SDWG) and his role in shaping key Arctic reports, such as Arctic Social Indicators II and Arctic Sustainability: A Synthesis of Knowledge, highlight his influence in Arctic policy and research. He has also directed Arctic-FROST and Arctic-COAST research coordination networks.
Dr. Petrov's research expertise include understanding and modeling sustainability of human-environment systems in the context of socio-economic, environmental and geopolitical change in the Arctic, with an emphasis on sustainability Indigenous community resilience and adaptation. "I am looking forward to my new role as a UArctic Chair to further advance international collaboration in the area of Arctic sustainability research. Arctic social-ecological systems are undergoing rapid transformations and Arctic communities are facing mounting challenges to their well-being and livelihoods. In this context we urgently need to promote international, interdisciplinary research that is driven by community priorities and realized through knowledge co-production. I intend to focus my chairship on supporting sustainability science and actionable, community-relevant research within the UArctic, and further connecting these efforts to the great work of our sister organizations, IASSA, IASC, and, collectively, strengthening the IPY-5 planning process" says Andrey Petrov when asked about his new position as UArctic Chair.
You can find more information about the UArctic Chairs here.