Council Co-Chairs
-
Ryan O'Hara - United States
Harvey Mudd College, United States
My name is Ryan O’Hara, and I am an undergraduate studying computer science, mathematics, and environmental robotics at California’s Harvey Mudd College. My primary research focus is on the ways that robotic systems can support failing ecosystems and mitigate the consequences and root causes of climate change. This research has taken me from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, where I worked on the development of an algae-based life support and water purification system for extraterrestrial habitats and water-starved regions on Earth, to the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, where I took part in a research expedition to study the effects of climate change on both myctophid populations and the wider marine ecosystem. During my tenure with APECS, I have served as a group leader for both the podcast and UArctic Congress projects, represented APECS as part of our organization’s group review of the IPCC’s 6th Assessment Report, and was a council co-chair during the 2021-2022 term. Outside of academia and research, I write and draw for an online webcomic, box, and play the piano.
-
Natalie Selwood - UK
Not affiliated, United Kingdom
-
Divyesh Varade - India
Indian Institute of Technology Jammu, India
Dr. Divyesh M. Varade is a budding expert on remote sensing of snow. He is presently working as the Assistant Professor of Geomatics at the Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Jammu, where he is also serving as the Departmental UG Committee Chairman. He is a research collaborator at the ATAL Centre for Artificial Intelligence at MJPRU-Bareilly. He received his Ph.D. degree from the Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Kanpur in 2020. In his doctoral research, he devised novel methods for the qualitative and quantitative characterization of snow using multi-sensor remote sensing data. Prior to his Ph.D. Dr. Varade pursued his graduate degree in the International Earth Oriented Space Science and Technology (ESPACE) Program with a specialization in remote sensing at the Technical University of Munich. He conducted his graduate research on change of detection of buildings at the division of Photogrammetry and Image Analysis, Remote Sensing Technology Institute, German Aerospace Centre. Dr. Varade holds an undergraduate degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering, which has significantly influenced his interests in radar remote sensing. Dr. Varade is serving as a referee for several highly reputed hydrology/water resource/remote sensing journals, and as review editor for Frontiers in Remote Sensing, and editorial board member for All Earth. He is also a member of several international associations. His research interests include development of methods using remote sensing for problems related to the cryosphere, hydrology/water resources, and environmental issues. He has reviewed several manuscripts on applied ML with remote sensing in sea ice and snow studies, and is presently working on application of deep learning techniques for identification of avalanche debris, snow depth mapping and various other problems in Cryosphere.
National Committee Coordinators
-
Hugo Guímaro - Portugal
MARE-UC (Marine and Environmental Sciences Center of the University of Coimbra) and BAS (British Antarctic Survey), Portugal
Hello there, greetings from Portugal! My name is Hugo Guímaro and I am a PhD student in Biosciences at the University of Coimbra (UC, Portugal), collaborating at the Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre of the University of Coimbra (MARE-UC) and at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), Cambridge, United Kingdom. My research focuses on Antarctic marine animal ecology with a particular interest in ecological interactions of apex predators to climate change and conservation in the Southern Ocean. Nowadays, my goals are to understand how climate change drove the population dynamics of Emperor penguins in the past and how they will answer it soon, using modelling and satellite imagery analysis approaches. Besides my scientific work, I am highly involved in education and outreach activities related to polar science, raising awareness for environmental issues. I also love photography and science journalism too. My experience with APECS began in 2018 when I joined APECS Portugal and APECS International too. Since then, I’m the Representative of APECS Portugal in APECS International, and I was the President of APECS Portugal for two years. In the Council Leadership of APECS, I already had the opportunity to be one of the Council Co-Chairs and National Committee Coordinator. I’m also representing APECS Int in the SCAR CBET advisory group and I’m a council member of the Polar Educators International. Nice to meet you!
-
Elaine Runge - Canada
University of Alberta, Canada
Hejsa all! My name is Elaine Runge. I have recently started my PhD at the University of Alberta, Canada, looking at the biogeochemistry in response to increasing glacial meltwater influx as well as seasonal changes in productivity in the high Canadian Arctic. I am generally interested in the interplay of biological and physical oceanography with regards to how (sympagic) primary producers respond to environmental alterations to their habitat driven by proceeding climate. An important component of the project is further to work alongside the local community in Grise Fiord and learn from their unique and incomparable knowledge of the region and their experiences that prove vital in better understanding the system’s dynamics and its changes as well as their help with field work campaigns. I come from a background of Marine Biology (BSc) and Climate Change (MSc). Other related experiences stem from courses and field work in Greenland, Svalbard and Canada. Through internships at the AWI, PIK or the Foundation for Environmental Education I was able to learn about the interconnectivity of the Earth systems as well as the social elements around climate knowledge, capacity building, and the power of societal involvement and activism. Currently I am also part of the WiSER (Women in Science, Engineering and Research) executive committee as I strongly believe a lot still needs to be done to strengthen the polar research community in terms of gender equity and the involvement of minorities, such as LGBTQ+ and indigenous people. I have often had the immense privilege to work within a multi-national, interdisciplinary research team which has broadened my horizon and approach to Arctic research and shaped me in the way I see and want to contribute to scientific progress. In my free time I like to go for hikes, do gardening and tap dance, engage in different forms of volunteering and political activism on social and environmental justice, and still try to master the cello.
-
Priyanka Vadrevu - India
Not affiliated, India
Namaste from India! I am an environmentalist by qualification, specialized in Hydro-glacial studies. My major areas of interest converge in Glaciology, Climate Change and IWRM Practices. I joined APECS as an individual council member in the year 2019 and worked on various projects within that one year of my engagement, which has been an extremely rewarding experience for me. Since then, I have always taken up leadership roles here (especially as a council chair for two consecutive terms). Apart from my involvement at APECS, I am also part of the Indian National Committee, i.e.., IPRN (APECS-India) as President under Executive Committee for 2021-22 term. I had experience of participating in the Himalayan expeditions which are the most memorable part in the course of my career till now. I have pursued various training programs on Hydro-Glacial Studies, Climate Change and Remote Sensing of polar regions (including Himalayas) from most of the eminent institutes nationally, as well as internationally, both; these helps me in keeping up with the trending technical skills. I have been entitlement as a ‘Certified Glaciology Expert’ from Indian Institute of Ecology and Environment (IIEE). I am excited and passionate to continue further at APECS in this term with my fellow ECRs as the part of the council leadership once again.
Social Media Coordinators
-
Anastasia Deyko - Peru
Not affiliated, Peru
Visited more than 50 countries, lived in 7 countries, educated in 2. Was born in the non-existing country USSR. I completed my first MA Marketing (Moscow State university of Statistics) where I devoted my studies to social phenomena in the world of design. Later I took a Master program in University of Boras (Sweden), researching the power of photography and upcycling design. I balance my international career in anthropology and global studies. Recently, I switched to experimental photography to reflect long term socio processes and build up future trends. My experience of management and coordination started in university, when as a thesis experiment I decided to start my own design collaboration and later to grow it into a fashion brand. I spent 3 years as coordinator and catwalk co-producer of international events. Later on I switched to be a part of a business incubator in Sweden, where every member expected to achieve personal milestones. Building 2 teams from scratch and achieving recognition in the markets taught me to balance trust and doubt, theoretical knowledge and international fast changing realities. I was involved in a few philanthropy projects related to art therapy and helping kids in difficult situations. During pandemia I focus more on remote marketing and producing personal book Marketing reflections of beauty in Peru. Over my recent One Arctic-Thousand cameras project I aim to make Polar related scientific data understandable independent of age, nation, country or language. So far the works I am most proud about are: headphones with my own patented design and the Unicornia art therapy international project.
-
Anika Happe - Germany
University of Oldenburg, Germany
My name is Anika Happe and I am a PhD student looking at the effects of natural fluctuations in temperature and light on freshwater phytoplankton at the University of Oldenburg (Germany). I found my way into APECS and my fascination for the Arctic during my participation in the MOSAiC School 2019 (organized by AWI and APECS) and have very much enjoyed communicating my experiences, the topic of climate change and the polar regions as an ambassador for the expedition. Besides my research interests and the polar regions, I am passionate about the outdoors, arts and slow-traveling.
-
Nadine Steiger - France
LOCEAN, Sorbonne Université, France
I am currently employed as a PostDoc at LOCEAN in Paris working on the oceanic heat transport onto the continental shelf in the eastern Weddell Sea as part of the European project SO-CHIC. I obtained my PhD in physical oceanography at the University of Bergen, Norway, where I studied the dynamics of ocean currents in the vicinity of the front of Antarctic ice shelves. Originally I am from southwestern Germany, far away from the ocean and polar regions, but I got highly fascinated by glaciers, sea ice and the surrounding oceans during a semester in Svalbard. To get closer to the Arctic, I moved to Norway for my Master, during which I modeled outlet glaciers in Greenland and got highly interested in the interface between marine glaciers and the ocean underneath. To see this interaction from the ocean side, my PhD focused on how oceanic heat reaches the base of the ice shelves in Antarctica. My PhD involved analyzing observational data in the vicinity of the Getz Ice Shelf in West Antarctica, as well as idealized modelling for a better understanding of the dynamics, and experiments on a large rotating tank in Grenoble, France. I always love going to the field and this year I joined my second scientific cruise to Dronning Maud Land in the Southern Ocean. I love enjoying the outdoors and believe that it is our responsibility to take care of our planet. Thus, I believe that as scientists, one of our main responsibilities is to communicate our knowledge and to bring a general awareness to the public.
Representative Coordinator
-
Gwenaëlle Gremion - Canada
Institut Des Sciences de la Mer - Université du Québec à Rimouski, Canada
Greetings from Rimouski in Canada ! Despite growing up in the tropical island of Guadeloupe (French West Indies), I have been interested in the polar landscape, ever since a trip I took to Spitzbergen with my grandmother when I was 8. Since then, I’ve mainly focused my academic background in polar marine sciences. My bachelor degree was in Geology and Biology, and my master's degree in Oceanography. I finished my PhD in 2021 in Physical and Biological Oceanography. Because my research is only computer related, and I really enjoy going to the field, I often find myself helping with others' polar projects. That attitude led me to travel to the Carlini base (Antarctica, Argentina) and to Baffin Bay (Nunavut, Canada) for oceanography missions to study the impacts of marine variables on the ecosystem. I’ve been a member of the Council and on the board of APECS France since 2017, and have thoroughly enjoyed the sense of community, network, and opportunities that APECS has provided. Within the Council, I was mainly involved in the leadership of the IPCC review Project Group which aims to provide opportunities to early career scientists to take part in the review activities of IPCC reports. I learnt to work with a lot of people from a variety of backgrounds, meeting hard deadlines in order to achieve our goals ! I just completed my second term in the ExCom after beeing the President for 2020/21, and this experience was just amazing ! I encountered colleagues and friends that I was happy to work with and join every day since two years now ! After this experience, I’m looking forward to work again with the Council to continue the amazing job we did with the ExCom the previous terms, to continue to grow APECS and make it shine on the international scene of polar associations through its continued support of early career scientists.