Cold Fusion

Karl Erb rallies thousands worldwide to advance science in the polar regions.

A doctor races against time to operate on an ill American scientist stationed in a harsh and unforgiving climate. Surgeons a continent away walk him through the complicated and lengthy medical procedure via videoconference. But the satellites are visible over the horizon only for a limited time, and just a few hours of daylight remain.

It's a scene straight out of Hollywood-and it's the real-life government program Karl Erb manages. Point person for the National Science Foundation's research operation in Antarctica, Erb, 64, has been director of the Office of Polar Programs since 1998. He has advocated the use of telemedicine to improve the health and safety of the scientists and support personnel who conduct research on the coldest side of the world. "The philosophy of the old days was that you had to be tough and that you were signing up for a whiskey assignment," he says, acknowledging that overcoming the old-school, grin-and-bear-it mentality of some on the ground can be a bit of a challenge.

Erb, who manages 3,000 to 5,000 people worldwide on an annual budget of $400 million, coordinates logistics, deals with contractors and, perhaps most important, listens. Many of his employees live and work in hostile terrain as part of a small, self-sufficient community that bears little resemblance to modern life in America.

The physicist also uses his listening skills to help peers in fields such as biology and astrophysics advance science in the polar regions, by championing projects such as the IceCube observatory at the South Pole Station. "I am just curious," says Erb. "I get excited when I see something new, and you ask yourself, 'Why not?' " The native of upstate New York also succeeded in getting groups such as the International Council of Science, World Meteorological Organization and the National Academies of Science to support the idea of International Polar Year 2007-2008, which seeks to highlight the role the poles play in climate change. As a result, the White House directed the National Science Foundation to lead the U.S. effort.

Erb credits his experience as a detailee at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy during the George H.W. Bush and Clinton administrations for giving him a sense of the big picture. "The science job in the White House is not a political job, but it's a political environment," says Erb, whose position required Senate confirmation. A special provision allows members of the Senior Executive Service to occupy a political appointment for a time and then regain their previous status without a break in service. The stint at the White House was useful to his job at NSF. "It helped me understand the process," he says.

Reflecting on his pre-public service days as an assistant professor at Yale University, where "most of the undergraduates were probably smarter than I was," Erb sums up his professional contributions this way: "There's nothing charismatic about me, but I learn how to get through to people."