500! That’s the number of young permafrost researchers roaming the surface of the Earth and registered with the Permafrost Young Researchers Network on the 18th of March, 2008. 500 members who progressively enriched a network that started from nothing in November 2005. Back then, we were dreaming of a web-based mailing list devoted to permafrost were 40 or 50 young scientists and engineers could discuss permafrost issues and exchange the most recent news fon their research.
We can now say that we dramatically failed in limiting the size of the network to 50 people and that we boast an incredible pool of young scientists from around 43 countries.
500 is too round of a number to encompass the richness, the diversity and the versatility of this community. Biologists, Geologists, Geographers, engineers, but also ecologists, anthropologists, historians, oceanographers have joined the network over the past 28 months. This has been made possible through the contributions of many, but most and foremost, the International Permafrost Association and its president, who have relentlessly attempted to establish bridges between PYRN and other organisations, and to connect us with the relevant bodies.
Several individuals took part in the early growth of the network and helped considerably to provide a functioning structure to PYRN. The core group, the national representatives and all others associated with the many projects that PYRN initiated can be proud to look back at what PYRN has become.
The World Association of Young Scientists (WAYS) has also helped us considerably by providing the technical resources to set up the new website.

Over the past two years and a half, PYRN has initiated a wide number of initiatives. The role of this blog is not to provide a census of those, but we should maybe highlight the PYRN award, PYRN-Bib, PYRN-TSP, the PYRN special issue and the PYRN workshops as central projects. New projects are now arising that should lead to fruitful results.
500 is also a nice number as it allows us to be an important player in the community and to profile us better in view of future sponsorship. This will be one of the major actions of 2008.
A large community with a modern topic of high relevance to the global environmental system. It was probably time to get together.
I hope that PYRN will now live up to the expectations of our large, international, and multidisciplinary membership. This will possible only through the bottom-up involvement of PYRN members in our activities, as it has been in the past and I strongly encourage your to contact your national representatives and/or to register on groups of interests on the website to keep yourself involved in the community. We’ll be happy to provide some feedback.
Thank you again for your commitment.
Hugues