Executive Committee

United States

Susana Hancock (Masters’x2, DPhil) is a multidisciplinary researcher engaged in Arctic climate geopolitics and environmental anthropology. She began her academic career as a 14-year-old astrophysicist at the University of Southern Maine. However, feeling adrift due to political apathy over climate, Susana refocused on Earth. She has completed fieldwork in a variety of places including in Iceland with the British Antarctic Survey looking at glacial retreat and in Norway looking at identity politics in Sápmi. PhD research in the Middle East on intractable conflict and some projects in China have also spurred her interest in the role of rights holders in the Arctic community. Susana is now focused on Arctic geopolitics and is particularly interested in international climate action. This involves working on several reports for the IPCC, the UN Ocean Decade and a new project looking at the socio-geopolitical impacts of climate change through Arctic oceanography. Susana routinely speaks internationally, including TED events, UN climate symposia and the World Economic Forum. She is currently on an unsupported Arctic climate research trek, where she is retracing a 150 year-old North Pole attempt and conducting climate investigations. She has been associated with the Arctic Institute and has written policy briefers on a variety of subjects related to climate in the Arctic. Trained in both natural and social sciences, and with extensive non-profit and political experience throughout the world, Susana works to have a global impact on Arctic environmental policy and the climate crisis through multi-sector collaboration. Susana has previously been affiliated with UiT—The Arctic University of Norway and the University of Oxford. In her other life, she is an elite rower who has competed around the world and qualified for Olympic and world championship trials. In lieu of annual holidays, she works on an organic wild blueberry farm.

Canada

Greetings from Canada! Born and raised in a small town where its almost normal to ski to the store in winter, it’s no surprise that I have a passion for all things cold regions. Like many, I started out in a different field – my choice was particle astrophysics? – but was driven by my love for the earth to study fragile and rapidly changing cold regions. I focus on hydrogeology (a.k.a. water moving below the ground) in places with permafrost. Because I’m bad at decisions, and I always want to know where numbers come from, I do both fieldwork and modelling. This means that I have the good fortune of travelling to some of the most remote and extreme places on earth, as well as experiencing the joy of compiling code to the wee hours of the night – all in the name of Science!! For me, the most important part of research is collaboration, and this is my main motivation for being part of APECS. Working together is the only way we will be able to face the challenges posed by climate change, and as I see it the first step in working together is to break down some barriers. Outside of my pure research work, I am an active advocate for overcoming epistemological barriers in the way we do research. Some of these include the barriers facing Indigenous communities whose lands are disproportionately affected by a warming climate, while others face field scientists from under-represented groups. My goal is to work to break down these barriers so we can hear all voices because the challenge we face will take all of us.

Turkey

Greetings from İstanbul, Turkey! I am a Captain who graduated from the Maritime Faculty of Istanbul Technical University (ITU) and worked in vessels for more than 2 years. I am also a multidisciplinary researcher since my interests are basically focused on organizing systems and finding practical solutions as optimum. I have been working in the Polar Research area since 2015 when the first corporate structure was founded in Turkey. Since then, I have been involved in annually organized National Polar Expeditions of Turkey as a member and land support team by means of logistics and law. Currently, I am a Ph.D. student at ITU Maritime Transportation Engineering where I also graduated and got a Master's degree from. I am working at Polar Research Institute (PRI), Turkey. I had the opportunity to meet with Polar Researches thanks to Prof. Dr. Burcu ÖZSOY who is also the founder of PRI. Since then, I am not only focused on the operations that we have been conducting in the Arctic and Antarctic, but also on education & outreach activities, since it is just as important to spread the acquired knowledge to future generations as it is to work at the Polar Regions. Based on this idea, I took on the leading role in the establishment of the Turkish Students’ Polar Research Team (PolSTeam). PolSTeam consists of university students and raises awareness of teachers first and then students within the framework of the curricula created based on age groups. Nowadays, I am on the advisory committee of the PolSTeam as an ex-chairperson. I have given numberless speeches on education & outreach, safety issues at sea, and Polar Regions, have contributed to a book called the National Polar Expeditions Training Book as a chapter writer, and have been involved in the organization committee of Polar Science Workshops and Polar Festivals as a part of my professional life. On the other hand, I enjoy doing skate, joining acting classes and watching theater, and still reading the newspaper :).

The Netherlands

I am originally from Bremen, northern Germany, where I did my PhD on past-ice dynamics in western Greenland. I analysed radiogenic isotopes in marine sediments in order to trace detrital sediment fluxes through meltwater discharge from the Greenland Ice Sheet into Baffin Bay. I recently transitioned from inorganic to organic geochemistry, now doing a postdoc at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam where I am working on the fate and transport of organic carbon into the ocean from thawing permafrost in the Canadian Arctic. I already fell in love with the Arctic during a research cruise that I attended during my master studies and ever since did not only want to contribute my part to researching this unique and sensible area but also share the science about it. During the past years I have been involved in several outreach and science communication projects, including blog writing and editing and scientific storytelling and social media. For the past two years I have also been involved in the social media team of APECS - because communicating the science is, to me, as important as the science itself.

Portugal

I’m a PhD student at the University of Coimbra (Portugal) and I focus my research in the Southern Ocean deep-sea, being interested in the ecological interactions (mainly predator-prey), species auto ecology and resources management. For my PhD, I’m studying the deep-sea food webs related with the Antarctic and Patagonian toothfish fisheries in the Southern Ocean, to understand how these are structured and how climate and anthropogenic stressors can affect it. My primarily work in polar ecosystems was during my degree when I studied the habitat and trophic ecology of Antarctic squids. It was during my master that I turned my research to Southern Ocean fisheries and studied the diet and trace elements concentrations in Antarctic toothfish from the Ross Sea region. During all these periods I had the luck to spend several months in the Southern Ocean, as by collecting samples for my research onboard fishing vessels, as by spending some time in scientific stations analysing them. Besides my academic research, I’m interested in Education and Outreach activities, given talks in schools and museums, but also participating in science fairs and other events. Conferences, coffee breaks and engage with friends after work are among my favourite things to do. 

I became an APECS member in 2014 as a member of the Executive Committee of the Portuguese National Committee which I chaired during the 2018 term. In 2016 I joined the APECS Council and since then I participated in several different project groups and had the chance of being a temporary ExCom member and council co-chairs during two terms.

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 just finished my PhD in Physical and Biological Oceanography, in which I modeled how primary production and pelago-benthic coupling will respond to environmental changes in the North Water Polynya in the Arctic. 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 cannot wait to grab any other opportunities to go on another polar expedition! Through my PhD I have been involved in many scientifics associations in order to broadband my network. These experiences made me realize the importance and advantages of diversity and international collaboration. 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 first term in the ExCom as President, and this experience was just amazing ! I encountered colleagues and friends that I was happy to work with and join every day since last 1st of October ! After this experience, I’m looking forward to work again with the Council to continue the amazing job we did with the ExCom this term, to continue to grow APECS and make it shine on the international scene of polar associations through its continued support of early career scientists.

Turkey

Greetings from the heart of Istanbul, Turkey! I am a life-long learner who graduated from Marine Engineering, focusing on sustainability of the engines for environment-friendly applications. Following this acceleration, I have continued in Geosciences as Master's degree to have a wider and different insight on not only studying scientifically climate change, but also transferring this knowledge to the public awareness, including citizen science by various projects and activities on Polar regions, the effects of climate crisis, and the possible steps to be taken to diminish individual footprints (i.e. carbon, water, ecological etc.) since 2015. Despite being a growing child in the coastal city, these experiences with further enthusiasm had led me to go up North, virtually travel around the Arctic circle to study the deepest unknown, frozen ground, permafrost! I focus on permafrost research, particularly investigating thermokarst lakes, which are also known ice-rich permafrost figured in lowland regions to infer a relationship between waterbody differentiation and changes in the Arctic ecosystems. Finally I am leading the Education and Outreach leg under the Polar Research Institute at the The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey and am both learning and feeding different disciplines such as ecological gardening to capacity building workshops, consisting of permafrost characteristics in order interactively to encourage the scientists of the future.

• Marta Moreno Ibáñez - APECS President 2021-2022 - University of Quebec in Montreal, Canada
• Mathieu Casado - APECS Vice-President 2021-2022 - University of Heidelberg, Germany
• Gwenaëlle Gremion - APECS Vice-President 2021-2022 - Institut des Sciences de la Mer - Université du Québec à Rimouski, Canada
• Susana Hancock - APECS Vice-President 2021-2022 - University of Oxford, United States
• Deniz Vural - APECS Vice-President 2021-2022 - Polar Research Institute, The Scientific and Technological Council, Turkey
• Jilda Caccavo - ex officio - Alfred-Wegener-Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Germany
• Clare Eayrs - ex-officio - Center for Global Sea Level Change, NYU Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
• Meghan Helmberger - ex officio - University of Colorado Boulder / National Snow and Ice Data Center, United States

• Gwenaëlle Gremion - APECS President 2020-2021 - Institut des Sciences de la Mer - Université du Québec à Rimouski, Canada
• Mathieu Casado - APECS Vice-President 2020-2021 - Alfred-Wegener-Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Germany
• Meghan Helmberger - APECS Vice-President 2020-2021 - University of Colorado Boulder / National Snow and Ice Data Center, United States
• Neelu Singh - APECS Vice-President 2020-2021 - Norsk Polarinstitutt, Norway
• Deniz Vural - APECS Vice-President 2020-2021 - The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey Marmara Research Center, Turkey Mangalore University, India
• Jilda Caccavo - ex officio - Alfred-Wegener-Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Germany
• Juan Höfer - ex officio - Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso, Chile
• Gabriela Roldan - ex-officio - University of Canterbury - New Zealand

• Jennifer Cooper - APECS President 2019-2020 - University of Kansas, United States
• Carolynn Harris - Montana State University, United States
• Juan Höfer - Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso, Chile
• Lara F. Pérez - British Antarctic Survey, United Kingdom / New Zealand
• Neelu Singh - Mangalore University, India
• Jilda Caccavo - ex officio - Alfred-Wegener-Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Germany
• Gabriela Roldan - ex-officio -Gateway Antarctica / University of Canterbury - New Zealand

• Jilda Caccavo - APECS President 2018-2019 - Alfred-Wegener-Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research - Germany
• Jennifere Cooper - University of Kansas - United States
• Clare Eayrs - New York University Abu Dhabi - United Arab Emirates
• Juan Höfer - Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso & IDEAL research Centre, Chile
• Gabriela Roldan - Gateway Antarctica / University of Canterbury - New Zealand
• Hanne Nielsen - ex-officio - University of Tasmania, Australia
• Alexander Thornton - ex-officio - Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S. - United States

• 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-Sébastien 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