Ellyn Enderlin is a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Maine. Her research interests include glaciers, ice sheets, icebergs, and ice-ocean interactions. The photo shows Ellyn working with Gordon Hamilton, also faculty at the University of Maine, to collect GPS measurements from a helicopter in Antarctica in October 2014.
When I was in 6th grade, I distinctly remember measuring rainfall in a homemade rain gauge hanging from a tree outside of my mom's house. Although I was always interested in science and nature, I wasn't taking rainfall measurements for fun; I was working on my science fair project. Obviously it wasn't the outcome of the competition that was important to me, because I can't remember how I ranked relative to my peers, it was the execution and presentation of the project that really stand-out in my mind. In fact, this science fair project may have unconsciously inspired me to attend my undergraduate alma mater, Lehigh University, because I still remember the trip to Lehigh's campus to present my project and tour the science and engineering facilities on campus. A colleague and friend of mine also recently shared that the Science Olympiad inspired him to work hard in high school and pursue a college degree!
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