Council 2010-2011

The following early career researchers served on the 2010-2011 Council. In addition, the members of the APECS Executive Committee 2010-2011 are also part of the Council: Allen Pope, Gerlis Fugmann, Angelika Renner, Suras Suresh Shetye and Mariette Wheeler

We would also like to recognize our past leaders as they continue to serve our organization as Ex-Officio members of the Council: Ben Beall, Hugues Lantuit, Dirk Notz, Daniela Liggett, Kate Sinclair, Alex Taylor, Carolyn Wegner and Jose Xavier.

• Silje-Kristin Jensen - Institute for Marine Research, Tromsø, Norway - APECS Council Chair 2010-2011

  APECS Norway
  I got involved with polar research in 2006 after a hooded seal (Cystophora cristata) cruise to the west-ice outside Greenland where I fell in love with the white silence. I am now an Arctic biologist. I took my Master of Science degree from the University of Tromsø and the University centre in Svalbard (UNIS) in 2009. My research have focused mainly on the Arctic ecosystem. My educational training has focused on mammalian biology, ecology and physiology. On my thesis I got to work with the ecology and biology of polar bears, seal and whales and looking into, how new discovered pathogens occur in remote areas. This boost an interest in me which made me pursuit a PhD. I now work with a project on diseases in Antarctic seals. Along with my research I work for the Institute of Marine Research as a biological technician with marine benthos and I am a PhD candidate at the Sea Mammal Research Unit, St. Andrews University, Scotland.

• Tosca Ballerini - Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USA

  APECS Italy
  I have a PhD in Polar Sciences from the University of Siena, Italy, and I currently work as a postdoctoral researcher at Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USA. For my PhD I studied the population dynamics of the Adélie penguin population of Edmonson Point, Ross Sea, Antarctica, and I participated in the XX Italian Antarctic Expedition as a marine biologist. My current research interests include Southern Ocean marine food webs and their sensitivity to climate change. I'm an APECS member since 2008 and I am part of the APECS Council and the APECS Research Activity Commette (RAC).

• Punyasloke Bhadury - Indian Institute of Science Education and Research-Kolkata (IISER-K), India

  I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research-Kolkata. I also lead the Integrative Taxonomy and Microbial Ecology Lab in the same department. Before joining as a faculty I completed my MSc from Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh and PhD from Plymouth Marine Laboratory in UK. My PhD research focused on the molecular ecology of free-living marine nematodes. I also spent two and a half years in the Lab of Professor Bess Ward, Princeton University (USA) as a postdoctoral researcher and worked on ecological genomics of marine phytoplankton assemblages. Since 2009, I have focused my attention to studying the molecular adaptations of planktonic and benthic organisms in the fjords of Svalbard, Arctic and in the Southern Ocean. I was the Team Leader of the Winter Phase of the 3rd Indian Arctic Expedition of 2010.

• Claudia Maturana Bobadilla - Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity (IEB), Sciences Faculty, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile

  APECS Chile
  I have always lived in the north part of Chile, where the desert becomes dominant. From this point of view, Antarctica always seems very far away and unknown for me; eventually this place becomes very intriguing and fascinating. At school I was interested in biology and evolutionary trends in organisms, especially in extreme environments. It was only until many years later that I found my place at the Molecular Ecology Laboratory, where I could combine this childhood motivation with scientific knowledge. During my master study at the University of Chile, I developed laboratory skills using molecular tools in marine invertebrates. Ultimately, my research interests become reproduction systems in marine invertebrates at extreme environments. Now I am developing my master's thesis, which is focuses in the seasonality of reproductive cycles and genetic consequences of a particular mode of development and reproduction in Antarctica. This year I became recipient of a scholarship of the Chilean Antarctic Institute (INACH), which will give me the opportunity to visit for the first time the Antarctic territory to carry out field work and to study the species of my research subject in their natural environment.

• Eleanor Darlington - PhD Student Loughborough University, UK

  I am pursuing a PhD in Antarctic Climatology with the geography department at Loughborough University, UK. I will be installing automatic weather stations in east Antarctica December 2011 and retrieving them December 2012. These data will be used to assess the mass balance of the ice sheet, as well as improve the accuracy of a model simulation. My interest in the polar regions started ten years ago a family friend showed a slide show of him working at Halley Research Station, Antarctica. I was hooked! I organised my high school work experience at the British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge; a week of metrological observations, ice cores and the desire to travel had me fixed on a career in science. My Masters thesis was observing the interactions between the inflow of Atlantic Water into the Barents Sea, and how this was impacting sea ice formation. This project led to the UK Arctic Sciences conference, a UKPN workshop and networking day, and a Southern Ocean research cruise! From there a Fram Strait cruise with the Norwegian Polar Institute and at present, an internship with Education Through Expeditions working on the AMT20 project, bringing real science into the classroom from the middle of the Atlantic.

• Erli Schneider Costa - Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

  APECS Brazil
  I´m a PhD candidate in Ecology at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (PPGE/UFRJ). I have worked with Antarctic seabirds since 2002 and I went to Antarctica on six expeditions with the Brazilian Antarctic Program. I completed my Master´s degree in Ecology in 2008 and in the same year I started my PhD project: "Behavioral ecology, reproductive biology and non-invasive analysis on stress ecology and heavy-metals contamination of Antarctic Skuas (Catharacta lonnbergi and C. maccormicki)". My PhD fellowship is of CNPq (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development / Brazil). Additionally I´m Associate Editor of Oecologia Australis, the scientific Journal of the PPGE/UFRJ, which publishes Ecology reviews (http://www.oecologiaaustralis.org)

• Bryany Denning - Public Health Agency of Canada/Institute for Circumpolar Health Research, Canada

  APECS Polar Heath Discipline Coordinator
  Bree was born and raised near Kerwood, in southwestern Ontario, Canada. She graduated with honours from Queen's University in 2006 and moved to Yellowknife in May 2008, where she has recently completed her Master's degree in Community Health and Epidemiology, under the joint supervision of Queen's University and the Institute for Circumpolar Health Research (ICHR). Her graduate research involved place of birth and health outcomes for newborns of mothers residing in the Northwest Territories. Since moving to Yellowknife, she has participated in a number of capacity-building activities, including attending several national and international conferences, and planning the student activities for the 14th International Congress on Circumpolar Health. Since November 2009, she has served as a Public Health Officer for the Public Health Agency of Canada, based out of the ICHR office in Yellowknife.

• Francisco Fernandoy - Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Germany

  APECS Chile
  Born at 7th March 1980 in Valparaiso, Chile. Attended Elementary and High School in Punta Arenas (Southern Chile). Moved in 1998 to Concepción (Chile) to study geology at the University of Concepción, there graduate in 2005. In 2006 worked for a private mining company near the city of Coyhaique (Chile). At the end of 2006 received a DAAD scholarship to initiate a PhD in Germany at the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research and the University of Potsdam, began the studies in April 2007 after a six months language course in the city of Leipzig (Germany). Between 2002 and 2008 participate in five scientific expeditions to the Antarctic Peninsula in subjects like palaeontology, geology and glaciology. The first four expeditions were in frame of an INACH (Chilean Antarctic Institute) project with the aim to study the evolution of the Gondwana break-up, based in paleontological and geological evidences. During these expeditions worked in different points of the South Shetland Islands. During January and February 2008 carried out the first expedition of his PhD program in the Antarctic Peninsula nearby the Chilean "O ́Higgins" station, from this location were retrieved shallow ice cores to study the climate variability in the last years to decades. I find the idea of collaboration between young researchers really interesting. As I saw at the SCAR/IASC meeting, APECS will become in the near future a reference point for all young Polar scientists and I would be really glad to contribute to this organization. I could offer my help to establish a national committee (Chilean) with the aim of get in touch all the Chilean young researchers and hopefully to establish cooperation instances between national and international partners. As well I could offer some help to those trying to work in the field, especially in the north of Antarctic Peninsula, where the Chilean stations are, to contact the right persons and when ever it's possible to collaborate in field.

• Jenny Fisher - Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA

  APECS Atmospheric Sciences Discipline Coordinator
  I am a Ph.D. candidate in atmospheric chemistry at Harvard University, where my research focuses on Arctic Haze and other forms of Arctic air pollution. I am a modeler by training, but my fundamental approach involves combining models with a wide array of datasets (ground-based, aircraft, and satellite) to test and enhance our understanding of the sources, transport, chemistry, and impacts of air pollution in the Arctic. I've looked at a variety of pollutants, including carbon monoxide, sulfate and ammonium aerosols, and mercury. I have been fortunate enough to be involved in the NASA ARCTAS aircraft campaign throughout my Ph.D., even spending time in the field (rare for a modeler!) providing chemical forecasts for the flights. I am originally from Northern California and am a Californian at heart! Prior to starting at Harvard, I completed my B.S. in planetary science at Caltech, where I studied dust devils on Mars. I wanted to use my scientific training to have a more direct impact on society, so I spent my time before graduate school as a geology and public policy intern at the American Geological Institute in Washington, D.C. I continue to have a keen interest in the intersection between science and society, and studying polar pollution keeps me at the nexus of these issues.

• Kim Jochum - University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) & Anchorage (UAA), USA

  APECS Virtual Poster Session Chair
  I am a Wildlife Biologist with major interests in wildlife management and global environmental issues, where it becomes important to include human perceptions and thinking into management strategies. I started my PhD in Alaska in 2009 with the Biology and Wildlife Department at UAF and the Resilience and Adaptive Management Group at UAA, combining social science and natural science approaches to discuss changes impacting wildlife in Northern urban areas. Already my Master thesis was carried out as collaborative project between the Institute of Arctic Biology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the Institute for Wildlife Research at the University for Veterinary Medicine in Hannover, Germany. In Hannover, I lived, studied and worked happily between 2004 and 2009. I love travelling and field work, especially in remote areas. It is great to work with local people and experience different cultures and thinking. Next to wildlife domestic to Germany, I worked with Howling Monkeys in Nicaragua, bat species in Costa Rica, Humpback Whales at the Pacific Coast of Canada, Polar Bears in Canada as well as Brown Bears in Alaska and the Russian Far East. Spending time with friends and getting exercise is crucial for me to enjoy life. My sympathy to Polar sciences and APECS I discovered through the polar bear research I got involved with in 2006. Currently, I am a chair of the Virtual Poster Session Working Group (VPS WG), and a member of the Research Activities Committee (RAC) of APECS. For me, most inspiring to put effort towards APECS activities are the energy and confidence within this group of Early Career Scientists to make a difference.

• Dubrava Kirievskaya - St. Petersburg State University, Russia

  APECS Russia
  I am a PhD student of the St. Petersburg State University (Department of Geoecology and Nature Development), owns a Master of Science in Ecology (2008). I have University Diploma of Ecologist (2006). I am took part in several international conferences and seminars. I work as young researcher in Academician I.S.Gramberg All-Russia Research Institute for Geology and Mineral Resources of the World Ocean (St. Petersburg). I have certificate "Urban Planning" (St. Petersburg, 2004). I was studied courses of law at the St. Petersburg State University. I was studied courses of financial Management at the St. Petersburg State University of Rail Transport. I took part in several IPY expeditions (Chukchi Sea, Golf of Finland, Arctic Ocean, Kharyaga's tundra of Russia). I am a member of the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS).

• Silvia Lourenco - Centro de Oceanografia/Laboratório maritimo da Guia, Departamento de Biologia Animal, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal

  APECS Portugal
  I am a Marine Biologist with a MSc in ecology, management and modeling of marine resources by the University Nova de Lisboa. I am a PhD Student in the Oceanography Centre of the University of Lisbon, Portugal, where I'm studying the effect of environmental factors in the life cycle of octopus. My research interests are mainly fish and cephalopods marine ecology studies, particularly the ones dedicated to growth, trophic ecology and population dynamics.Since 2009 I've been working in the Polar Project under José Xavier coordination (IMAR University of Coimbra) in collaboration with Martin Collins, John Watkins (British Antarctic Survey), Carlos Assis (University of Lisbon) and Yves Cherel (CEBC-CNRS, France). My work field is mainly dedicated to fish and cephalopods ecology, growth and population dynamics studies.I am a member of the APECS Portugal executive committee and member of the APECS council since October 2010. Under APECS I also collaborate in the Funding Resources working group.

• Oliver Marsh - Gateway Antarctica, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand

  I grew up in England and graduated from the University of Durham in 2008 with an honours degree in physical geography. I worked as a geophysicist at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) over the summer before doing a Masters at the Scott Polar Research Institute at the University of Cambridge. My research project here involved a laboratory investigation of the interaction of water with ice of different roughness at the base of ice shelves. After completing my Masters I worked for BAS for another 7 months both in the upper atmosphere group and as a geophysicist, processing radar data from Pine Island and the Rutford Ice Stream in West Antarctica. I moved to New Zealand in February 2010 to begin my PhD at the University of Canterbury. The aim of my PhD is to combine a number of remote sensing methods to further the understanding of grounding-zone ice dynamics in the Ross Sea sector of the Transantarctic Mountains. When I'm not studying the glaciers, I like to go mountaineering or ice climbing on them in the New Zealand Alps.

• Inga May - University of Munich, Department of Geography, Germany

  As I was born with snow-and ice sickness, I was always interested in polar regions and during my studies in physical geography at the university of Munich my research got more and more focused on arctic sciences. Since 2008 I am no working on my PhD thesis which is embedded in the Canadian ArcticNet program and deals with the possibility to detect permafrost changes by means of satellite images. My test site is located in Northern Quebec, Nunvik around the small Inuit village of Umiujaq and twice a year I spend some time in this area in order to do some field work. For the first time I participated in an APECS event in 2009 during a workshop in Victoria. Since then I am an active member and was already involved in the organization of workshops, working groups and other activities.

• Jennifer Rhemann - Masters of Arts Student at the University of Akureyri, Iceland

  APECS Polar Policy Discipline Coordinator
  Jennifer Rhemann is an M.A. candidate in Polar Law at the University of Akureyri. She has worked in various science support capacities for the U.S. Antarctic Program at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, and she studied polar sciences via the U.S. National Science Foundation Polar Education Program and California State University. She holds a Bachelor of Antarctic Studies with Honours from the Institute of Antarctic and Southern Ocean Studies, University of Tasmania, where her research was focused on the development and implementation of policies regarding non-native species in the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic regions. Her research interests include the science – policy interface, governance of the Polar Regions, and implementation of policy. She's fascinated by the polar regions and is thrilled to be an active member of the Association of Early Career Polar Scientists (APECS).

• Virginie Roy - Université du Québec à Rimouski, Canada

  Network Liaison, ArcticNet Student Association
  I'm a PhD candidate in Oceanography at the Institut des Sciences de la Mer de Rimouski (Université du Québec à Rimouski) in Eastern Canada. My first experience in the Canadian Arctic was during the summer of 2008 when I spent a month on Bylot Island studying thermokarst ponds. In 2009, I worked for the Canadian federal government at the CITES Scientific Authority (Endangered Species & Wildlife Conservation Division) on the impact of international trade on polar bear. That experiences in and about the North inspired me to start a PhD project in the Canadian Arctic in 2010 to investigate the biodiversity of macrobenthic organisms. My field sampling takes place aboard the Canadian research icebreaker CCGS Amundsen, a vessel that other scientists of the ArcticNet network use to undertake oceanographic researches in the Arctic. As an executive committee member of the ArcticNet Student Association I'm representing the ArcticNet students in the APECS Council.

• Julia Schmale - Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz, Germany

  APECS RAC Chair / APECS Atmospheric Sciences Discipline Co-Coordinator
  Career-wise I am an environmental engineer specialized in contaminated soil remediation and waste management. I studied at the University of Leoben, Austria, and spent approximately two years in Concepción, Chile, during this time doing some practical work in organic waste management. So, how did I end up with atmospheric science in Polar regions? After having learned a lot about anthropogenic emissions to soil, water and air and how they can be mitigated, I thought exploring the effects of atmospheric emissions would very much complete the picture. So, I started a PhD performing aircraft-based aerosol mass spectrometric measurements. My first campaign was on long-range transport pollution over Greenland during the International Polar Year in 2008. This experience got me hooked on studying Polar aerosol and was the motivation to join APECS. I also had the chance to measure a 3 months old volcanic aerosol plume from the Okmok and Kasatochi eruptions in the tropopause region over Central and Western Europe in fall 2008. After having explored a very little bit of Arctic aerosol, I had the chance to measure particles in Sub-Antarctica for three months on Bird Island, South Georgia, a research station operated by the British Antarctic Survey. As a visiting scientist at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Edinburgh, Scotland, my task was to find out about the contribution of sea bird emissions to the local submicron aerosol by studying particle chemical composition with specific focus on biogenic compounds and ammonia. Since March 2011 I am the chair of the research activities committee.

• Nikolas Sellheim - Northern Institute for Environmental and Minority Law, Arctic Centre, University of Lapland

  University of the Arctic Representative
  I was born in northern central Germany, surrounded by agriculture and forests. At some point in my early 20s, after school and social service and a failed attempt to get really interested in History and Philosphy, I moved to Berlin and became a Veterinary Assistant. Yet, also this profession was not the purpose of my life. Therefore, I began studying Scandinavian Studies, due to my deep interest and fascination for the North. But before I even realized, I made a choice that changed my entire life: I chose to take a one-year break from my studies in order to venture to Rovaniemi, Finland, to do the Arctic Studies Program (ASP). While doing that, the fascination for the Arctic grabbed me and therefore I expanded the ASP to the Bachelor of Circumpolar Studies, finishing it while also finishing the BA Scandinavian Studies. Ultimately, after graduation, I had to go to Akureyri, Iceland, to do the MA in Polar Law. I am still in the process of writing my thesis, but currently I am working at the Arctic Centre as a researcher, will then in January move to the University of the Arctic's International Secretariat, while in parallel continue my work for the Arctic Centre.

• Paloma Serrano - Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Germany/Spain

  Born in Madrid, Spain, I showed great interest in Biology and Space from early years. I studied a double major in Biochemistry and Biology and graduated from Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain. My last academic year took place in Lund University, Sweden, where Microbiology in extreme environments and Astrobiology became my main interest. Over my time at college I got involved in different projects concerning Mars analogue microbial ecosystems on Earth. Trying to follow this line as a graduate student, I had the opportunity to join the European Space Agency in the Netherlands as part of a two- year training programme. In the Life Support section, I participated in ExoMars-related projects, involving different kinds of extremophiles from hyperthermophiles to psychrophiles. The latter caught my attention despite the difficulties when trying to cultivate them sometimes. I find extremely interesting the fact that they are potential candidates for past or present life forms outside the Earth due to their high resistance to hostile conditions as well as their ability to adapt to changing environments. Focusing on this research topic, I started my PhD in the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in Potsdam, Germany. I am studying the survival of archaea from Siberian permafrost when they are exposed to Mars simulated conditions in both Earth and Space.

• Matt Strzelecki - Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań (Poland) & Durham University (UK)

  APECS Poland
  Mateusz Strzelecki was born on 5th June 1984 in Poznań, central Poland. However he spent his childhood in a smaller town Swarzedz surrounded by forests and lakes, what had a huge influence on his attitude towards nature and environment. His parents are both academics, working at Faculty of Theology at Poznan University. After finishing one of the leading Polish high-schools (1st High School in Swarzedz) he moved to Poznan to study geography at Faculty of Geosciences at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan. Studies at the biggest geographical centre in Central Europe opened him a chance to visit the High Arctic and write his Master thesis about glaciofluvial transport in small, glaciated catchment located on Spitsbergen. During last four years Mateusz was a member of 5 expeditions to Spitsbergen Island. He spent one semester at University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), where he participated in two specialized courses in permafrost and periglacial geomorphology and cold region field investigations. During his Masters' studies he obtained Socrates/Erasmus scholarship and moved to the United Kingdom to Portsmouth University to study fluvial geomorphology and mountain climatology. He graduated in June 2007 and applied for a PhD position at his former Faculty. When Mateusz started his doctoral research about polar coast geoecosystems on Svalbard and South Shetlands he got an opportunity to move to Department of Geography at Durham University, UK, and continue his thesis under supervision of professor Antony Long. Mateusz specializes in polar geomorphology with a particular consideration of paraglacial landscape evolution in fluvial and littoral geoecosystems. He is also a passionate propagator of multidisciplinary polar science without borders and beliefs in a significant role of cold region scientists in a globalized world. One of the most important events in his young career was a New Generation of Polar Reserachers Symposium in Colorado Springs, May 2008, where together with wonderful polar friends from nearly half of the world, he understood how amazing mission is waiting to be fulfilled. His current efforts to become an ExCom in APECS are a direct result of NGPR Symposium assumptions and one of his leading goals for next decade.

• Rosa Rut Thorisdottir - University of Paris, France

  APECS Social Sciences Coordinator

  I obtained my undergraduate education in General Cultural Anthropology at the University of Iceland, Reykjavik, focusing on anthropology of gender as well as northern studies with a field trip to Eastern Greenland. This was followed by a Masters' degree in Visual Anthropology at the Goldsmiths College in London, leading to a Ph.D thesis in Visual Anthropology at the University of Paris 7, under the supervision of Professor Pascal Dibie. The thesis explores the potential values of visual documents for the populations they represent and their legal rights to claim these documents. Main research interests include Inuit cultures; cultural property rights; cultural heritage and analysis of visual documents.

• Penelope Wagner - University of Delaware, USA

  APECS Geophysics Discpline Coordinator
  I am currently a graduate student at the University of Delaware with a focus in Climatology. My research is aimed at assessing between sea ice processes with both active and passive microwave products specifically for the validation of scatterometer products using the Ku-band to distinguish between open water and specific ice types for Antarctic sea ice. The validation for this will improve the systematic applications of these products for operational and logistical ice charting capabilities by providing near real-time forecasting and archiving of long-term records for scientific analysis and climate modeling.

• Yulia Zaika - Khibiny educational and scientific station of the Geography Department of Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia

  I was born in Russian Arctic. It is my home. All my life depend on Arctic. I work, live, studied in here for 26 years. Now I work at Khibiny educational and scientific station of Geography Department of Lomonosov Moscow State University. This station is situated at NW Russia, Kola Peninsula, in the middle of Khibiny Mountains. My main scientific areas are avalanches, snow, weather conditions, tourism and social observations on quality of life of people in changing Arctic.

• José Araos Espinoza - Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Zonas Aridas, La Serena, Chile (Partial Term)

  APECS Chile
  Geographer, GIS professional at CEAZA's (Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Zonas Aridas) glaciology laboratory. Experienced in glacier and periglacier environment research. Abilities in the preparation and execution of fieldwork activities, handling of geodetic equipment and technology application in the processing of information. Particularly interested in management and participation of multidisciplinary initiatives oriented to the development of glaciological research.

• Emily Jateff - Flinders University, USA

  APECS Archaeology Discipline Coordinator
  I am an Associate Lecturer in Maritime Archaeology at Flinders University (Adelaide, South Australia). My postgraduate research focussed on the archaeology of shore-based whaling stations. I have worked in both the academic and private sectors as a professional archaeologist with specialties in maritime archaeology, disaster management for archaeological sites and collections, artefact analysis and stabilisation, and international cultural heritage management. I also hold a professional certificate in gastronomy from Le Cordon Bleu—which assists with my research into maritime foodways. I am particularly interested in becoming a member of APECS as a way to increase awareness of polar archaeology within the international community. Associations such as APECS, PAN and the IPHC are vital to community exploration, management and interpretation of archaeological resources located within Polar Regions. APECS offers the chance for increased interdisciplinary cooperation, which is crucial for informed heritage management. Although I have yet to travel to the Polar Regions, participate in a polar field project or publish within the field, I am active in increasing my level of participation. My current goal is to create a database of all known maritime heritage resources located within the Australian Antarctic Territory (AAT) and use these data as a baseline for a proposed Antarctic Virtual Maritime Heritage Trail.

• Begona Vendrell-Simón - Institut de Ciències del Mar (CSIC) (Partial Term)

  APECS Spain
  Bego studied biology and was engaged as an undergraduate student in an Antarctic adventure, which fascinated and captured her completely. This lead to her starting a PhD at the Marine Science Institute (ICM-CSIC) from Barcelona on marine ecology in a High Antarctic continental shelf system. More exactly, she'd like to unveil some of the benthic-pelagic relationships occurring in the Weddell Sea. She is currently "writing" and hopes to give in her dissertation soon. But Bego is not only interested in "natural sciences", so she also completed her studies in cultural anthropology, and would like to develop some still blurry ideas regarding more anthropological topics in polar regions. She has been working in outreach projects since a long time ago, represents the Spanish YSC and is member and co-founder of the outreach association Omnis cellula.

• Anna Wagner - Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA

  Permafrost Young Researchers Network
  I am a Research Environmental Engineer at Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL), Fairbanks, Alaska, USA. My research focuses on snow studies in the Arctic and I am also involved in environmental studies such as contaminant transport. I have studied snow sublimation, and I have also investigated the repeatability of snow patterns. My two main study sites are Barrow, Alaska, and the Imnavait Creek basin just north of the Brooks Range in Alaska. I am originally from Sweden (Umeå) and I have been living in Fairbanks since 2002. I received my PhD in Environmental Engineering from the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 2007 which involved estimating groundwater travel times and identifying possible radionuclide seepage zones from underground nuclear detonations on Amchitka Island, Alaska. My MSc is in Engineering Physics from Luleå University of Technology, Sweden.