Executive Committee

University of Padua - Italy / Germany

Greetings from Berlin, via Italy, hailing from Brooklyn, NY. I just completed my PhD on the population structure of the keystone species the Antarctic silverfish. My research interests involve combining multidisciplinary techniques including genetics, otolith chemistry and trophic analyses to understand the health of Antarctic fish populations in order to gauge what impacts climate change and anthropogenic disturbances will have on them.

I joined the APECS Council for the 2016-17 term and worked in multiple capacities before being elected to the Executive Committee for the 2017-18 term. I am excited to have the opportunity to be part of the APECS ExCom for the 2018-19 term, continuing to support the ambitious projects of the Council, the day to day business of running APECS, and realizing the overarching goals of each ExCom’s mandate: providing opportunities for and supporting early career Polar researchers.

University of Kansas - United States

Greetings from the Midwest of the USA! Somewhat of an academic nomad, I have lived and studied on 6 continents throughout my life. Hailing from Shingle Springs, CA, I completed my undergraduate education at Cornell University (2014) in astrophysics, geophysics, and archaeology, where I primarily studied volcanoes around the globe, including those in Antarctica, with various satellite data. I then decided to turn my eyes towards the sky and change fields to galaxy evolution and cosmology, completing a Msc in Physics (2017) at Cal State LA/UCI, and continuing on to a PhD program in Physics at the University of Kansas. There are a wide range of facilities in this field located in Antartica, and other telescopes around the world are located at high altitude, which allows me to delve into multidisciplinary areas of study.

I’ve been a member of the Council since 2015 and have thoroughly enjoyed the sense of community, network, and opportunities APECS has provided and working towards common goals. After gaining leadership experience through various project groups and chairing the organizing of the 2018 APECS World Summit, I was the 2017-2018 Council-Co Chair. I'm also the APECS representative to SCAR Astronomy & Astrophysics and on the board of USAPECS. As an enthusiastic and dedicated individual, I’m looking forward to working together with everyone to help facilitate the evolution of growth of APECS while continuing to support early career researchers.

New York University Abu Dhabi - United Arab Emirates

I am working as a research scientist in the Center for global Sea Level Change at New York University Abu Dhabi. We are a very small community of polar researchers in Abu Dhabi, and I love the extensive network of friendly polar scientists that I have met through APECS. I am relatively new to polar research, having taken up this position only a couple of years ago. I am interested in Antarctic sea ice, in particular on waves in sea ice and the interactions between sea ice and ice sheet margins. I had the opportunity to deploy some wave buoys in the Antarctic Marginal Ice Zone last year on the SA Agulhas II, which was a fantastic experience and I can't wait to get back into the field. My previous background is in modelling European Shelf Sea Ecosystems. I worked for Cefas, UK and the Joint Research Centre, European Commission to look at policy focused questions such as, how do riverine nutrients affect the eutrophication of European coastal waters, the contribution of on-board desulphurisation equipment (open loop scrubbers) on seawater quality, and marine ecosystem response to climate change and trawling.

Southern University of Chile / IDEAL research center, Chile

My name is Juan Höfer and I am greeting you from a cloudy and rainy city in Chile, Valdivia. I got my PhD. in biological oceanography at the Oviedo University (Spain). During those years, I worked in temperate and sub-tropical seas, studying plankton, especially spatial distributions, population ecology and its role in pelagic trophic webs (i.e. energy and matter fluxes). Two years ago, I moved to the south of Chile as a post-doctoral researcher at the Southern University of Chile and the IDEAL research center. Since then, my research has drifted south and further south (from Northern Patagonia to Southern Patagonia) until I reached Antarctica in summer 2017. Now, and until 2021, I will study the present and future role of Salpa thompsoni and Euphausia superba in the pelagic carbon fluxes of the Western Antarctic Peninsula as the main focus of my post-doctoral project. The drift of my research towards southern latitudes brought me to APECS and shortly after to its council. Joining APECS has been a great experience for me and I would like to be in the next ExCom to help in providing new interesting opportunities for ECRs.

University of Canterbury, New Zealand

My name is Gabriela Roldan, I am a passionate advocate for the Polar Regions. I’m from Ushuaia, Argentina but live in New Zealand now. I am in the final stages of a PhD at Gateway Antarctica, University of Canterbury. In my research, I look at the influence of Antarctic geopolitical agendas in the construction of Antarctic identities within the communities of gateway cities. My wider research interests are in polar policy-making, community identity, polar tourism and management, and polar education and outreach. Currently, I hold a position as expert researcher at Gateway Antarctica, connected to a larger international research project titled ‘Antarctic Cities and the Global Commons’. I represent APECS at the SCAR Capacity Building, Education and Training Group (SCAR CBET), I work for a small non-profit foundation for ecological restoration in remote islands, and I travel frequently to Antarctica working as a naturalist for ecotourism expeditions.

University of Alaska Fairbanks - United States

APECS Executive Committee Member 2016 - 2018

I am a Master’s student in Marine Biology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where I research feeding ecologies of Pacific walruses in a changing Arctic using stable isotopes from growth layers of teeth. I received my first Master's from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, where I studied marine biodiversity and conservation of Earth's polar regions and completed analyses with NOAA’s SWFSC on how different mating strategies affect recovery rates of dolphins impacted by fisheries. Outside of school, I co-founded a SCAR EG-BAMM working group to investigate new, non-invasive field DNA sequence approaches and am training my shelter dog for wildlife detection. I am also currently one of APECS’ Executive Committee members and Representatives to SCAR’s CBET Committee.

In my lifetime, I hope to produce scientific content that positively influences dynamic ocean management and communicate the global value of polar science to a broad audience. I believe that STEAM fields are empowered by diversity and multi-disciplinary approaches, so am proud to work alongside early career scientists from around the world as we make strides towards meeting intersectional goals.

University of Tasmania, Australia

APECS President 2017-2018

APECS Executive Committee Member 2015 - 2018

My name is Hanne Nielsen, I live in Hobart, and I have a passion for all things Antarctic. Over the last 3 years I have been writing my PhD at the University of Tasmania, where I split my time between the English Department and the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies. My research looks at representations of Antarctica in advertising media – I ask how Antarctica has been used to sell various products and services over time. This topic reflects my wider research interests in Antarctic Humanities and Social Sciences research: In 2013 I completed a Masters of Antarctic Studies at the University of Canterbury (New Zealand), examining representations of Antarctica upon the theatrical stage, and I am currently the Early Career representative on the SCAR Humanities and Social Sciences Expert Group Executive Committee.

I first travelled to Antarctica in 2011 as part of the University of Canterbury’s Postgraduate Certificate in Antarctic Studies, and I have since returned for several seasons, spending time lecturing on Antarctic cruise ships. I have been involved in both the APECS leadership since 2014, and with the local APECS Oceania branch since 2012.

• Hanne Nielsen - APECS President 2017-2018 - University of Tasmania - Australia
• Jilda Alicia Caccavo - The University of Padua - Italy
• Jean Holloway - University of Ottawa - Canada
• Gabriela Roldan - Gateway Antarctica / University of Canterbury - New Zealand
• Alexander Thornton - University of Alaska Fairbanks - United States
• Alice Bradley - ex-officio - Dartmouth College - United States
• Ruth Vingerhagen - ex-officio - University of Cambridge - United Kingdom

Photo (from left to right): Alex Thornton, Jean Holloway, Gabriela Roldan, Gerlis Fugmann, Jilda Caccavo, Hanne Nielsen, Alice Bradley, Heike Midleja, Clare Eayrs, Jennifer Cooper, Fiona Tummon.

• Alice Bradley - APECS President 2016-2017 - University of Colorado Boulder - United States
• Josefine Lenz - Alfred Wegener Institute - Germany
• Hanne Nielsen - University of Tasmania - Australia
• Alexander Thornton - University of Alaska Fairbanks - United States
• TJ Young - British Antarctic Survey / University of Cambridge / Scott Polar Research Institute - United Kingdom
• Heather Mariash - ex-officio - National Wildlife Research Centre - Canada
• Trista Vick-Majors - ex-officio - Université du Québec à Montréal - Canada
• Ruth Vingerhagen - ex-officio - University of Cambridge - United Kingdom

Photo: Front row from left to right: TJ Young, Josefine Lenz, Alice Bradley, Gerlis Fugmann, Heike Midleja. Back row from left to right: Alex Thornton, Hanne Nielsen, Ruth Vingerhagen 

• Ruth Vingerhagen - APECS President 2015-2016 - University of St. Andrews - United Kingdom
• Alice Bradley - University of Colorado Boulder - United States
• Heather Mariash - National Wildlife Research Centre - Canada
• Hanne Nielsen - University of Tasmania - Australia
• Trista Vick-Majors - Montana State University - United States
• Jean-Sébastien Moore - ex-officio - Université Laval - Canada
• Yulia Zaika - ex-officio - Khibiny educational and scientific base of the Faculty of Geography M.V.Lomonosov Moscow State University - Russia
• Sara Strey - temporary ExCom member - University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign - United States

Photo (from left to right): Gerlis Fugmann, Heather Mariash, Ruth Vingerhagen, Alice Bradley, Hanne Nielsen, Yulia Zaika, Trista Vick-Majors

• Jean-Sébastien Moore - APECS President 2014-2015 - Université Laval - Canada
• Ivan Dubinenkov - Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research - Germany
• Ruth Hindshaw - University of St. Andrews - United Kingdom
• Heather Mariash - National Wildlife Research Centre - Canada
• Trista Vick-Majors - Montana State University - United States
• Jennifer Provencher - ex-officio - Carleton University - Canada
• Yulia Zaika - ex-officio - Khibiny educational and scientific base of the Faculty of Geography M.V.Lomonosov Moscow State University - Russia
• Alice Bradley - temporary ExCom member - University of Colorado, Boulder - United States
• Sílvia Lourenco - temporary ExCom member - Universidade de Lisboa - Portugal

Photo (from left to right): Ivan Dubinenkov, Gerlis Fugmann, Trista Vick-Majors, Ruth Vingerhagen, Heather Mariash, Yulia Zaika, Jean-Sébastien Moore

• Christie Logvinova - APECS President 2013-2014 - Clark University - United States
• Frigga Kruse - University of Groningen - Netherlands
• Russell Fielding - University of Denver, United States
• Jean-Sébstien Moore - Université Laval - Canada
• Iglika Trifonova - Bulgarian Antarctica Institute - Bulgaria
• Jennifer Provencher - ex-officio - Carleton University - Canada
• Penelope Wagner - ex-officio - University of Delaware - United States
• Yulia Zaika - ex-officio - Khibiny educational and scientific base of the Faculty of Geography M.V.Lomonosov Moscow State University - Russia

Photo:  Front row from left to right: Iglika Trifonova, Frigga Kruse, Christie Logvinova. Back row from left to right: Gerlis Fugmann, Russell Fielding, Yulia Zaika, Jennifer Provencher, Jean-Sébastien Moore

• Penelope Wagner - APECS President 2012-2013 - University of Delaware - United States
• Erli Costa - Federal University of Rio de Janeiro - Brazil
• Jennifer Provencher - Carleton University - Canada
• Ines Tavernier - Consortium Marine@UGent - Belgium
• Yulia Zaika - Khibiny educational and scientific base of the Faculty of Geography M.V.Lomonosov Moscow State University - Russia
• Gerlis Fugmann - ex-officio - University of Saskatchewan - Canada
• Allen Pope - ex-officio - Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge - United Kingdom

Photo (from left to right): Penelope Wagner, Erli Costa, Jennifer Provencher, Ines Tavernier, Yulia Zaika, Gerlis Fugmann, Allen Pope

• Yulia Zaika - APECS President 2011-2012 - Khibiny educational and scientific base of the Faculty of Geography M.V.Lomonosov Moscow State University- Russia
• Allen Pope - Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge - United Kingdom
• Jennifer Provencher - Carleton University - Canada
• Angelika Renner - Norwegian Polar Institute - Norway
• Luis Guilherme Resende de Assis - Universidade de Brasilia - Brazil
• Gerlis Fugmann - ex-officio - University of Saskatchewan - Canada

Photo (from left to right: Jenny Baeseman, Julia Zaika, Luis Guilherme Resende de Assis, Allen Pope, Jennifer Provencher, Angelika Renner

• Allen Pope - APECS President 2010-2011 - Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge - United Kingdom
• Gerlis Fugmann - Justus Liebig University Giessen - Germany
• Angelika Renner - Norwegian Polar Institute - Norway
• Suhas Suresh Shetye - National Centre for Antarctic & Ocean Research - India
• Mariette Wheeler - M2 Environmental Connections, Pretoria - South Africa

Photo (from left to right): Mariette Wheeler, Suhas Shetye, Allen Pope, Jenny Baeseman, Gerlis Fugmann, Angelika Renner

• Gerlis Fugmann - APECS President 2009-2010 - Justus Liebig University Giessen - Germany
• Francisco Fernandoy - Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research - Germany
• Daniela Liggett - University of Canterbury - New Zealand
• Kate Sinclair - New Zealand Ice Core Programme - New Zealand
• Alexandra Taylor - Stockholm University - Sweden
• Allen Pope - part-term - University of Cambridge - United Kingdom

Photo (from left to right): Gerlis Fugmann, Francisco Fernandoy, Daniela Liggett, Kate Sinclair, Alexandra Taylor, Allen Pope

• Daniela Haase Liggett - APECS President 2008-2009 - University of Canterbury - New Zealand
• Ben Beall - University of Western Ontario - Canada
• Francisco Fernandoy - Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research - Germany
• Matt Strzelecki - Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań (Poland) & Durham University (U.K.) / The Association of Polish Geomorphologists - Poland
• Liz Thomas - British Antarctic Survey / U.K. Polar Network - United Kingdom

2008-2009 brought about some important career changes for 2 of our ExCom members. Jose and Tina have moved on, but still remain active in the organization.

• Jose Xavier, British Antarctic Survey (UK), CEBC-CNRS (France), and University of Algrave (PT)
• Tina Tin, Environmental Consultant (France)

Photo (from left to right): Daniela Liggett, Ben Beall, Francisco Fernandoy, Matt Strzelecki, Liz Thomas, Jose Xavier, Tina Tin

• Kriss Rokkan Iversen - APECS President 2007-2008 - University of Tromsø - Norway
• Narelle Baker - Scott Polar Research Institute / UK Polar Network - United Kingdom
• Hugues Lantuit - Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research / Permafrost Young Researcher Network and International Permafrost Association Secretary / Co-Founder of APECS - Germany
• Daniel Pringle - University of Alaska, Fairbanks / Alaska Young Researcher Network - United States
• Jose Xavier - Center for Marine Sciences / Portuguese Youth Steering Committee - Portugal

Photo: APECS ExCom 2007-2008 in Iceland writing the APECS constitution. From left to right: Hugues Lantuit, Jose Xavier, Daniel Pringle, Jenny Baeseman, Halldor Johansson, Kriss Rokkan-Iversen, ?, Narelle Baker, Dave Carlson