The Northwest has long been a hub for Alaska-bound fishing vessels and scientific study of the Arctic. The University of Washington’s new “Future of Ice” initiative seeks to build on that research in a region now undergoing rapid changes. The initiative includes several new hires, a new minor in Arctic studies and a winter lecture series. “This is partly recognizing how much is going on in polar research at the UW,” said initiative director Eric Steig, a UW professor of Earth and space sciences who studies ice cores.