Executive Committee

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 and a member of ExCom during 2018 - 2019. I'm also the APECS representative to SCAR Astronomy & Astrophysics, a member of SCAR AntVolc, 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.

Montana State University, United States

I am a PhD student in Ecology and Environmental Science at Montana State University in Bozeman, MT. I am passionate about the outdoors and my love of fieldwork led me to explore biogeochemistry research in polar environments. I've worked in Arctic Alaska at the Toolik Lake Field Station, in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas, and lived Kaktovik, an Inupiat village in Alaska, for three summers completing my masters field work. Now, I've switched poles and study geobiology of permanently ice-covered lakes in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica.

I am passionate about helping the polar science community become more welcoming and inclusive for all and have worked with the APECS project group on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. I also mentor undergraduates during the grad school app process via my university's chapter of Women in Science and Engineering.

When I’m not in the lab or the field, I enjoy long-distance backpacking, climbing, and hanging out with my adventure cat, Milo.

Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso, Chile

My name is Juan Höfer and I am greeting you from Valparaiso, Chile. 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). Three 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 (http://www.centroideal.cl/en). 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 at least until 2022, I will study the marine ecosystems of the Southern Ocean taking part in several national and international research projects. The drift of my research towards southern latitudes brought me to APECS, shortly after to its council and one year after to its Executive Committee. Joining APECS has been a wonderful experience for me and I would like to continue in ExCom one year more to keep helping ECRs to get interesting opportunities through APECS.

British Antarctic Survey, United Kingdom / New Zealand

Greetings from beautiful Wellington, New Zealand! I am a Marie Curie post-doctoral fellow at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), Cambridge, UK. However, my research project has taken me down-under where I will be for over a year, based at the Antarctic Research Centre at Victoria University of Wellington. Yes, I am a bit world traveller! I have made many secondments during my PhD and postdocs trying to learn new skills and broadband my network. So much international travel has made me realise about the advantages of diversity and international collaboration. I am a marine geophysicist and my research is focused in the analysis of oceanic basins and continental margins, including sedimentary processes and seismic stratigraphic analyses. I work with the interaction among tectonic, oceanographic, climatic and cryospheric processes and their evolution through time. Therefore my research encompasses multi-disciplinary approach to a broad range of marine geophysical topics. My research areas include the Arctic Ocean, the Greenland margins, the Drake Passage - Scotia Sea and the West Antarctic Margin, where I am focussing my efforts more recently. I have a broad interest on the evolution of the Polar Regions. Working in both Antarctic and Arctic polar regions I hope to achieve a global perspective on the Cenozoic evolution of Earth, and the controlling factors globally involved.

Mangalore University, India

My name is Neelu Singh and I am from India. Presently I am living in Longyearbyen, Svalbard. My research interest is in anthropogenic contaminants in Polar Regions. Moreover, I am interested in science communications and outreach activities to communicate the importance of Polar Regions to the general public/students/researchers. Recently, I have completed my doctoral degree in Marine Geochemistry. My doctoral research work was primarily directed at assessing temporal and spatial variations in the Organic Pollutants in the sediments of the Kongsfjorden system of Ny-Ålesund and to relate the variations to anthropogenic interferences.

My experience with the APECS leadership role as a National Committee coordinator (2017-18) and as Council Co-Chair (2018-19.) has motivated me to apply for the Ex-com.

Alfred-Wegener-Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Germany

Greetings from Berlin, via Italy, hailing from Brooklyn, NY. I am a Humboldt postdoctoral fellow studying population structure in the Antarctic toothfish, commonly known as the Chilean Sea Bass. My hope is that the data generated from my research will inform fisheries management of this commercially relevant species, which also happens to be the largest of all Antarctic fish species, as well as help to push forward the implementation of a Marine Protected Area in the Weddell Sea region of the Southern Ocean. My research interests involve combining multidisciplinary techniques including genetics, otolith chemistry and trophic analyses in a hydrographic context in order to understand the health of Antarctic fish populations in order to gauge what impacts climate change and anthropogenic disturbances 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 was re-elected to the 2018-19 Executive Committee, during which time I had the privilege to serve as APECS President. I am excited to continue to contribute in the 2019-20 term to the Executive Committee in the capacity of ex-officio, in particular as the APECS leadership works to define the Strategic Goals of APECS for the next five years.

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.

• 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
• Alexander Thornton - University of Alaska Fairbanks - United States
• 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-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