I’m very pleased and honoured to announce my appointment as Honorary Fellow of the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS), one of the 12 colleges and research institutions making up the University of the Highlands and Islands.  My election as Fellow follows previous collaboration with SAMS faculty, including the first Scotland Model Arctic Council (SCOTMAC), which SAMS hosted; SCOTMAC 2, in which SAMS students participated; and guest lectures on the ‘human Arctic’ over the past two academic years to SAMS marine-science students taking a special ‘Polar Seas’ module.  I’m grateful to the SAMS Board for welcoming me as an official member of their Association, and I’m looking very much forward to deepening my engagement with their academic, policy and public-outreach work.  I’m also hoping it will lead to more excuses to visit Scotland, a place very dear to me!