US Antarctic Interview Series

For this interview series, I enjoyed a conversation with Dr. Christina Cheng, a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Chris is a molecular biologist specializing in cold adaptation in Antarctic fish and is a member of the US National Academies Polar Research Board. In this interview, we discuss her many contributions to the Antarctic research community, including her groundbreaking genetic sequencing research, and identification of key science questions and initiatives within polar regions.

Dr. Julia York, a postdoctoral research fellow working with Dr. Christina Cheng, kindly agreed to speak with me from Punta Arenas, Chile, in February 2024, immediately following completion of a field campaign on the Antarctic Peninsula. We discussed her cutting-edge genomics research and various experiences within the Antarctic science community, both in the field and in the lab. After our conversation, Julia checked back in to add a retrospective of her experience at the SCAR Open Science Conference that occurred in August. Having worked with the British Antarctic Survey during her PhD and the Chilean Antarctic Institute as a Fulbright scholar, Julia is an exemplar of successful international collaboration in Antarctic research.

In this interview, I talk with Dr. Elisabeth Sikes, a Professor in the Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences at Rutgers University, who has worked extensively in the Southern Ocean focusing on carbon cycling and climate change. In addition to her work in oceanography and paleoceanography, she has been deeply involved with the Southern Ocean Regional Panel (SORP) and the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR). Her research interests span the inorganic and organic aspects of carbon cycling, using sediment cores to study the ocean’s role in CO2 sequestration and release over time. Throughout our discussion, Liz reflects on her most memorable field experiences, from navigating hazardous weather conditions to taking sediment cores in the Southern Ocean.

In this interview, I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Ryan Glaubke, a recent doctoral graduate from Rutgers University and a current postdoc at the University of Arizona. Ryan is an oceanographer who developed his passion for climate science through firsthand experiences with flooding and environmental change in his hometown near Norfolk, Virginia. His research focuses on paleoceanography, where he uses microfossils from marine sediments to reconstruct past climate conditions, including shifts in ocean temperatures and salinity. Ryan’s work highlights the importance of understanding historical climate change to better predict future scenarios. In this interview, Ryan dives into the fascinating world of foraminifera, the tiny marine organisms he studies to uncover the secrets of Earth’s ancient oceans.

In this interview series, I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Chuck Kennicutt, a Professor Emeritus at Texas A&M University and a major contributor to SCAR. Chuck is an environmental geochemist with research interests ranging from the environmental impacts of oil spills to subglacial lake environments. In addition to his many scientific contributions to Antarctic research, Chuck has served as US Delegate to SCAR (1998-2012), Vice President of SCAR (2004-2008), and SCAR President (2008-2012). In this interview, Chuck discusses how he became involved in Antarctic research, his contributions to SCAR, and his outlook on the future of Antarctic science.

After my conversation with Dr. Chuck Kennicutt, I spoke with Dr. Andrew Klein, a professor at Texas A&M University. Andrew is a geographer and GIS specialist who was invited to collaborate with Chuck on a 15-yearlong monitoring project at McMurdo Station early in his career. In this interview, Andrew discusses how he developed an interest in Antarctica as an undergraduate student in Minnesota, his research experiences and how his perspective of working in Antarctica has changed over time, and how other research projects in the Andes relate to the Antarctic.

For this interview series, I had the privilege of speaking with Dr. Diana Wall, a distinguished professor at Colorado State University. Dr. Wall's research delves into the critical role of soil biodiversity in extreme polar environments. In this interview, she discusses her pioneering work in Antarctica’s McMurdo Dry Valleys, her involvement with the initial proposal for the Long Term Ecological Research project for the region and shares valuable insights from nearly three decades of fieldwork.

In this interview, I had the pleasure of speaking with Abby Jackson, a former master's student of Dr. Diana Wall. Abby recently moved to Fairbanks to begin her new role as a Research Technician at Toolik Field Station. She shares her journey from an enthusiastic undergraduate student at Colorado State University to completing her master’s research on Antarctic nematodes in the McMurdo Dry Valleys. We discussed the challenges she faced starting graduate school amidst a pandemic, insights gained during virtual SCAR meetings, and her excitement for her upcoming work at Toolik.

In this interview series, I had the pleasure of speaking with Prof. Steve Ackley, an associate professor of research at the University of Texas at San Antonio, recipient of the 2022 SCAR Medal for International Scientific Coordination, and 2023 AGU Fellow. Steve is a pioneer in the field of sea ice research and has spent his career forging international collaborations. In this interview, Steve discusses advances in sea ice research over the course of his career, his experiences in the field and with SCAR, and his advice for students interested in becoming involved with Antarctic research.

Following my interview with Prof. Steve Ackley, I was treated to a conversation with Dr. Maddie Smith, an assistant scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Maddie studies sea ice at both poles and has collaborated with Steve on studying sea ice production in the Ross Sea. In this interview, Maddie explains why sea ice is important to study, shares her experience working in the Antarctic and Arctic, and discusses future directions in polar research.

For our second interview series, I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Dan Costa, a renowned marine biologist and professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Dan has dedicated his career to studying the foraging ecology and reproductive biology of marine mammals and seabirds and has conducted research on almost all of the Antarctic pinnipeds during his tenure. In the interview, Dan discusses his experience studying various seal and sea lion species in California, Australia, and Antarctica. He also highlights recent developments in technology within his field which allows researchers to study how seals feed and sleep within the water column. We also talked about Dan’s participation in the SCAR Expert Group on Birds and Animals, EG-BAMM which spans over 30 years of involvement.

In this interview series, I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Luis Huckstadt, a talented oceanographer and former PhD student of Dan Costa. I caught up with Luis over the phone while he was en route to Palmer Station in Antarctica. We spoke about his upcoming fieldwork aimed at studying how crabeater seals are able to locate food in their nearby environment. We also discussed his involvement in the SCAR Scientific Research Program on Integrated Science to Inform Antarctic and Southern Ocean Conservation (Ant-ICON) group and the collaborative work that stemmed from it.

For our first interview of the series, I enjoyed talking with Dr. Berry Lyons, Professor of Earth Sciences at the Ohio State University. We spoke about his career in geochemistry and the serendipitous path that brought a born-and-raised Floridian to countless visits to the Dry Valleys of Antarctica – I say countless because when I asked Berry how many seasons he’s spent on the continent and he replied with a guess of “over 15”. In the interview, I asked Berry about his involvement in the McMurdo Dry Valleys Long Term Ecological Research Program, his recent studies of proglacial streams in Taylor Valley and subglacial lakes at Mercer Ice Stream, and his pivotal role in understanding geochemical weathering rates of polar environments. We also discussed his participation with SCAR over the years, his love of SCAR's Open Science Conference, and his advice to students interested in finding their own path into the world of Antarctic research.

Following my chat with Dr. Berry Lyons I was put in contact with Dr. Melisa Diaz, his former PhD student at the Ohio State University who just started her postdoc at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI). Like her former advisor, she spoke a lot about serendipity and described the circuitous journey that brought her into the field of geochemistry and onward to Antarctica. We talked in detail about her paper that just came out on her work near Shackleton Glacier, a region she describes as “the most beautiful place in the world”. We also discussed the projects she’s working on at WHOI which spanned topics in Antarctica, Greenland, and even Mars.