Council 2011-2012

The following early career researchers served on the 2011-2012 Council. In addition, the members of the APECS Executive Committee 2011-2012 are also part of the Council: Yulia Zaika, Allen Pope, Jennifer Provencher, Angelika Renner, Luis Guilhereme Resende de Assis as well as Gerlis Fugmann (ExCom ex-officio)

We would also like to recognize our past leaders as they continue to serve our organization as Ex-Officio members of the Council: Ben Beall, Kim Jochum, Daniela Liggett, Dirk Notz, Alexey Pavlov, Alex Taylor, and Carolyn Wegner.

• Tosca Ballerini - Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography, France - APECS Council Co-Chair 2011-2012

  I received a PhD in Polar Sciences from the University of Siena, Italy, in 2007. For my thesis I studied the population dynamics of the Adélie penguin population of Edmonson Point, Victoria Land, in the Ross Sea. As part of my PhD, I participated as a biologist in the XX Italian Antarctic Research Expedition from October 2004 to January 2005. During this period I collaborated with colleagues of the Department of Environmental Sciences of the University of Siena in collecting data for the CCAMLR Ecosystem Monitoring Program (CEMP) studying the reproductive biology of Antarctic seabirds (Adélie penguins and Southern Ocean skuas). After completing my PhD, I spent 3 years at the Center for Coastal Physical Oceanography, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, US, working as a postdoctoral researcher under the guidance of Prof. Eileen Hofmann in the NSF-funded Southern Ocean Global Ocean Ecosystems Dynamics (SO-GLOBEC) program. As part of this project I developed a food web model for the marine ecosystem of the western Antarctic Peninsula, in the Southern Ocean, and compared this ecosystem with three other large marine ecosystems in the US. In January 2012, I joined the researchers of the Institut Méditerranéen d'Océanologie (M.I.O.) in Marseille, France, working in the EMIBIOS (End-to-end Modelling and Indicators for BIOdiversity Scenarios) program. My contribution in this project will be to develop a two- way coupling of a food web model with a biogeochemical model. This coupled model will then be used to assess the impacts of climate change, fisheriers and marine protected areas on the biogeochemical cycles and the structure of pelagic marine food webs. My field of expertise is marine biology, but I'm also highly interested in marine policy, in particular for the Southern Ocean. I am a member of the Council of the Association of Polar Early Carrier Scientists (APECS) since 2008 and I am one of the two APECS council co-chairs for the year 2011/12. I participate in the Scientific Steering Commette (SSC) for the Southern Ocean Observing System (SOOS) as APECS ex-officio member.

• Penelope Wagner - University of Delaware, USA - APECS Council Co-Chair 2011-2012

  I am currently a graduate student at the University of Delaware with a focus in Climatology. My research is aimed at assessing between sea ice processes with both active and passive microwave products specifically for the validation of scatterometer products using the Ku-band to distinguish between open water and specific ice types for Antarctic sea ice. The validation for this will improve the systematic applications of these products for operational and logistical ice charting capabilities by providing near real-time forecasting and archiving of long-term records for scientific analysis and climate modeling.

• Alexandre Bevington - University of Ottawa, Canada

  I am a 23 year old bilingual Canadian enrolled in the 4th year of a BSc program in Physical Geography. My main hobbies are music (Bass player in a French-Canadian band called Marabou), photography (won a photography contest for the Journal of Glaciology's 200ed. cover photo), and the outdoors (cycling, rock climbing and canoeing). During my undergraduate studies I have been privileged to participate in unique opportunities: (1) Participated in the Cryo-Ex exchange program with the University of Oslo in Norway (Fall 2010); (2) Participated in field schools in cryospheric/polar sciences in both Norway (University of Oslo – Summer 2010) and the Yukon (University of Ottawa – Summer 2010); (3) Research assistant for a permafrost and solifluction study in Svalbard (Spring 2010), and for a glaciological study of the surging Lowell Glacier, Yukon (Spring-Fall 20111); and (4) Field assistant in the Yukon (Permafrost along the Alaskan Highway – February 2011) and on Baffin Island (Glaciology of Penny Ice Cap – April/May 2011). Meanwhile, I also love the outdoors: this summer I completed a four month canoe trip from Ottawa to Fort McMurray, Canada (4,500km); last summer I cycled for two months from San Francisco to the Yukon, Canada (4,000km); and the summer before that I backpacked for two months through northern India and the Himalaya. My research interests all branch from the cryospheric sciences and remote sensing. I hope to continue this passion through graduate studies starting in September 2012.

• Punyasloke Bhadury - Indian Institute of Science Education and Research-Kolkata (IISER-K), India

  I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research-Kolkata. I also lead the Integrative Taxonomy and Microbial Ecology Lab in the same department. Before joining as a faculty I completed my MSc from Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh and PhD from Plymouth Marine Laboratory in UK. My PhD research focused on the molecular ecology of free-living marine nematodes. I also spent two and a half years in the Lab of Professor Bess Ward, Princeton University (USA) as a postdoctoral researcher and worked on ecological genomics of marine phytoplankton assemblages. Since 2009, I have focused my attention to studying the molecular adaptations of planktonic and benthic organisms in the fjords of Svalbard, Arctic and in the Southern Ocean. I was the Team Leader of the Winter Phase of the 3rd Indian Arctic Expedition of 2010.

• Emily Choy - Fisheries and Oceans Canada and University of Manitoba, Canada

  I am a PhD student at the University of Manitoba and Fisheries and Oceans Canada, studying the diet and energetics of the Eastern Beaufort Sea beluga population under the supervision of Dr. Lisa Loseto and Dr. Jim Roth. I finished my MSc. in the Chemical and Environmental Toxicology program at the University of Ottawa, studying biovector transport of contaminants (mercury, PCBs, and DDT) from a large seabird colony to High Arctic food webs at Cape Vera, Devon Island, Nunavut, Canada. I have worked at Environment Canada on various projects in environmental toxicology, such as monitoring temporal trends of perfluorinated compounds in polar bears, immuntoxicity in bivalves, and the effects of brominated flame retardants on the reproductive success of tree swallows. I have also worked as an evaluator for the Ecological Assessment Division, studying the toxicity and bioaccumulation of selenium and other inorganic substances in aquatic ecosystems. I am very interested in the impacts of contaminants in Arctic ecosystems and their interactions with other stressors on marine mammals. I am also involved in science education and outreach, and have a B.Ed from the Outdoor Education program at Queen's University and have worked as an educator at the Canadian Museum of Nature.

• Erli Schneider Costa - Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

  I´m a PhD candidate in Ecology at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (PPGE/UFRJ). I have worked with Antarctic seabirds since 2002 and I went to Antarctica on eight expeditions with the Brazilian Antarctic Program. I completed my Master´s degree in Ecology in 2008 and in the same year I started my PhD project: "Behavioral ecology, reproductive biology and non-invasive analysis on stress ecology and heavy-metals contamination of Antarctic Skuas (Catharacta lonnbergi and C. maccormicki)". My PhD fellowship is of CNPq (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development / Brazil). I hope to contribute with the development of APECS in Brazil and South America countries!!!

• Eleanor Darlington - Loughborough University, United Kingdom

  Ten years ago a family friend showed a slide show of him working at Halley Research Station, Antarctica. I was hooked! I organised my high school work experience at the British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge; a week of metrological observations, ice cores and the desire to travel had me fixed on a career in science. My Masters thesis was observing the interactions between the inflow of Atlantic Water into the Barents Sea, and how this was impacting sea ice formation. This project led to the UK Arctic Sciences conference, a UKPN workshop and networking day, and a Southern Ocean research cruise! From there a Fram Strait cruise with the Norwegian Polar Institute and at present, an internship with Education Through Expeditions working on the AMT20 project, bringing real science into the classroom from the middle of the Atlantic.

• Pedro Echeveste - University of the Balearic Islands, Spain

  Pedro finished his BSc in Biology at the University of Navarra and moved to Madrid to develop a MSc in Climatic Risks and Environmental Impact. After this period, he moved to Finland to study the effects of Climate Change in Finnish forests, and returned to Spain after five months to develop his PhD on the effects of legacy contaminants (POPs and trace metals) on marine phytoplankton. Originally interested in near shore waters including the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, during his PhD he had the chance to discover the Arctic and the Southern Oceans, becoming fascinated about these environments and improving his studies in those remote areas. With his PhD recently achieved, Pedro is interested in the role that contaminants play in polar ecosystems, how they affect the biogeochemical cycles occurring in these ecosystems, how they disturb species interactions (predation, competition, etc.) and, in summary, in the effects that anthropogenic pollutants will have to polar biota in a changing world.

• Gerlis Fugmann - International Centre for Northern Governance and Development, University of Saskatchewan, Canada

  I am currently working as a post-doctoral researcher at the International Centre for Northern Governance and Development at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada. My research project focuses on a comparative economic development study in the Circumpolar North. I completed my PhD in Geography in 2011 at the Department of Geography of the Justus Liebig University Giessen (Germany). My PhD research focused on bottom-up economic development opportunities in Canadian Inuit regions (especially Nunavik and Nunatsiavut), after the settlement of land claim agreements in the last few decades. I first developed my interest and passion for the Polar Regions and the Canadian North in particular during my Master's project on Nunavut and have enjoyed ever since working in this fascinating area of our planet. I have been involved with APECS for quite a while and enjoy the work with so many early career researchers from around the world. Since, 2009, I was able to serve on the APECS Executive Committee first as a regular member and now in an ex-officio role. In 2009-2010, I had the privilege to be the APECS President.

• Jolie Gareis - Simon Fraser University, Canada

  Although I grew up in the middle of a major Canadian city, I gravitated to the outdoors as a child. A job as a camp counselor during my teens transformed into a job as a field assistant during my undergraduate degree. I fulfilled my lifelong dream to see and experience northern Canada in the summer of 2004, when I traveled to the Mackenzie Delta region of the Northwest Territories to do field work for my Masters. The arctic got under my skin, and I've been looking for excuses to return ever since. Currently, I'm enrolled in a PhD program at Simon Fraser University. My doctoral research (based on data gathered while I worked as an IPY field and lab manager from 2007-2009) examines fluxes of nutrients and carbon exported from the Mackenzie River during the annual flood and high-water periods following ice-out. In January 2011 I finally had the perfect reason to relocate to my beloved field site and home-away-from-home in Inuvik, Northwest Territories – I was hired as the manager of the Inuvik Research Centre, a division of the Aurora Research Institute. So, I am concurrently a full-time student and a full-time research centre manager – and I love doing both equally. In my spare time, I like to swim, ski, watch movies and read anything that isn't a journal article or textbook.

• Meagan Grabowski - Wildlife Conservation Society, Canada

  I was born in Dawson City, Yukon, and grew up in Whitehorse, Yukon. I thoroughly enjoyed growing up in the North: canoeing, snowshoeing, skiing, hiking, and a variety of other outdoor activities. I worked for the Yukon Department of Environment for four summers, conducting and leading northern community based projects from bird banding to trail building. I recently completed my BSc Natural Resource Conservation at the University of British Columbia. My first Arctic research experience was being on the ArcticWOLVES research team on Herschel Island in August of 2009. I have since attended the University Centre on Svalbard, taking Arctic Marine Biology and Arctic Terrestrial Biology, and recently returned from a field season as a research assistant at Alexandra Fiord, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut.

• Silje-Kristin Jensen - Sea Mammal Research Unit, St. Andrews University, United Kingdom / Institute of Marine Research, Tromsø, Norway

  Chair of APECS Funding Working Group
  I got involved with polar research after a hooded seal (Cystophora cristata) cruise to the west-ice outside Greenland where I fell in love with the white silence. I am now an Arctic marine biologist. I took my Master of Science degree at the University of Tromsø, Norway and the University centre in Svalbard (UNIS). My research have focused mainly on the Arctic ecosystem and over the years my Antarctic interest has increased. For my thesis I studied the ecology and biology of polar bears, seal and whales and looked into how new discovered pathogens can occur in remote areas like Svalbard. This experience made me want to pursuit more science. I now work with a project on new occuring diseases in Antarctic pinnipeds (seals). Along with my research I work for the Institute of Marine Research as a biological technician with marine benthos and I am a PhD candidate at the Sea Mammal Research Unit, St. Andrews University, Scotland.

• Molly Zhongnan Jia - University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania

  I finished my undergraduate in Marine Science in China in 2007. Travelled a bit during a gap year, and then come to Hobart for master study on Antarctic Science in 2009, where I officially started my polar research life. After the master degree, it is just too much fun for research on Antarctic krill so I decided to keep going for a PhD in Hobart, in the same institute – Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies. My PhD research focuses on diet of larval Antarctic krill in the winter. It investigates the relationship between krill larvae and sea ice in the southern ocean.

• Lisa Marie Leclerc - University Centre in Svalbard, Norway / Canada

  Lisa-Marie Leclerc is from the French Canadian city of Rimouski by the St- Lawrence River. Her aspiration for winter adventures and love for science has inspired her to conduct research in the Arctic. Thus, she initiated a career in marine science by achieving a Bachelor's degree in Biology at the University of Rimouski (Canada) and has recently completed a Master's degree in Arctic Marine Ecology at the University of Tromso (Norway). While completing a certificate in Tourism, she is seeking to obtain a PhD position. Involve in Arctic research for the past six years, she had the opportunity to participate from field course at the Toolik Station in Alaska, to research expeditions in Baffin Island (Canada), northern Norway, and Svalbard. During these years, she worked with the elusive narwhals, Greenland sharks, beluga, and the northernmost population of harbor seals, monitored the phytoplankton spring bloom in Arctic water, and studied the oceanography of a fjord. Her broad knowledge gives her a unique understanding of the Arctic marine environment. Establishing home above the Arctic Circle, in Longyearbyen, she aims to combine her taste for extreme adventures and her curiosity to discover new places by exploring the Arctic. After completing a winter survival course in northern Quebec, she seeks to work as a guide in Svalbard and join polar expeditions in Greenland and Baffin Island. As member of the Explorer Club, it is with commitment that she will carries on the explorer spirit in her forthcoming journey.

• Maja Lisowska - Jagiellonian University, Poland

  I work as a research assistant at Dept. of Polar Research and Documentation, Institute of Botany, Jagiellonian University, Poland. Since 2009 I have been a member of APECS Poland.I completed my Master's degree in biology at the Jagiellonian University, in 2007, working on lichen biomonitoring. My polar experience started in 2007, when, as a fresh PhD student, I became involved in a project on environmental changes in Sørkapp Land, Svalbard and got an opportunity to do research in the High Arctic. I was a part of a botanical team which conducted comparative tundra vegetation mapping. In 2009 I attended the Arctic Plant Ecology course at the University Centre in Svalbard. My PhD project, completed in 2011, was focused on vegetation succession - including vascular plants, mosses and lichens - on two glacier forelands in Central and Southern Svalbard. My research interests cover several lichen- and polar-connected issues: lichen biogeography, ecology and taxonomy; colonization and succession in glacier forelands; Arctic tundra vegetation changes; lichen adaptations to extreme environments; biomonitoring using lichens.

• Silvia Lourenco - Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal

  I am a Marine Biologist with a MSc in ecology, management and modeling of marine resources by the University Nova de Lisboa. I am a PhD Student in the Oceanography Centre of the University of Lisbon, Portugal, where I'm studying the effect of environmental factors in the life cycle of octopus. My research interests are mainly fish and cephalopods marine ecology studies, particularly the ones dedicated to growth, trophic ecology and population dynamics.Since 2009 I've been working in the Polar Project under José Xavier coordination (IMAR University of Coimbra) in collaboration with Martin Collins, John Watkins (British Antarctic Survey), Carlos Assis (University of Lisbon) and Yves Cherel (CEBC-CNRS, France). My work field is mainly dedicated to fish and cephalopods ecology, growth and population dynamics studies.I am a member of the APECS Portugal executive committee and member of the APECS council since October 2010. Under APECS I also collaborate in the Funding Resources working group.

• Candice Lys - Institute for Circumpolar Health Research, Canada

  Born and raised in Fort Smith, Northwest Territories in a large Métis family, Candice Lys is now a Research Associate with the Institute for Circumpolar Health Research in Yellowknife, Canada. She graduated with First Class Honors from the BA Honors (Sociology) program the University of Alberta and holds a MA (Health Promotion) from Dalhousie University. Currently, Candice is a doctoral student and Vanier scholar in the PhD (Public Health Sciences) program at the University of Toronto Dalla Lana School of Public Health. Her dissertation research will involve developing, implementing, and evaluating a sexual health theatre project with youth in the NWT using community‐based participatory methods. Candice is involved with numerous territorial, national, and international committees and conferences, including serving on the Scientific Committee for the 15th International Congress on Circumpolar Health.

• Heather Mariash - University of Jyväskylä, Finland

  It is the extreme seasonalityin the Arctic that drives both my passion for the arctic and my research objectives. The acute seasonality between the extended dark winters and short cold summers with 24 hrs of day light, have distinct constraints to food availability and consumer survival. My research focuses on the aquatic ecosystems of the arctic and subarctic studying the dietary strategies used by zooplankton to cope with these harsh environments. Based in Finland, I am a working towards my PhD at the University of Jyväskylä. I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to conduct field work in northern Finland, southwestern Greenland, and Svalbard. Born and raised in Canada, I received my BSc in Environmental Biology at the University of Alberta (2006). After six years in Finland, I would like to extend my research to different parts of the arctic through collaborative efforts on an international level, finding solutions and building public awareness for emerging Polar issues.

• Sanna Markkula - University of Helsinki; Finnish Environment Institute / Marine Research Centre; University Centre in Svalbard - Finland / Norway

  My name is Sanna Markkula, and I come from a small city called Imatra in the eastern border of Finland. Later on I moved to Helsinki to study Marine Biology and Geography at the University. After four years of basic studies in the "warm" coast of the brackish "sea", I needed the real sea, the real snow, and proper winter. I was accepted to write my Master's thesis on Arctic copepods at the University Centre in Svalbard. My planned half a year long Svalbard visit prolonged into several years, because I worked both as a nature guide and as a research assistant, but mainly for the reason that I fell in love with the white silence. My stay at Svalbard left a spark towards polar research and I somehow drifted to make doctoral thesis project in collaboration with the University Centre in Svalbard and the Finnish Environment Institute / Marine Research Centre. The main objective of my doctoral thesis is to gain information on ctenophore populations in the Northern Seas. The project studies the role and importance of ctenophores in the food webs and how different aspects of the changing climate could affect these communities. On my free time, I'm mostly in the out in the nature with a back bag and hiking boots, skies, kayak or dog sledge. The more I learn about this white nature, the more amazed I am, and therefore the Arctic issues have become extremely dear to me.

• Oliver Marsh - Gateway Antarctica, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand

  I grew up in England and graduated from the University of Durham in 2008 with an honours degree in physical geography. I worked as a geophysicist at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) over the summer before doing a Masters at the Scott Polar Research Institute at the University of Cambridge. My research project here involved a laboratory investigation of the interaction of water with ice of different roughness at the base of ice shelves. After completing my Masters I worked for BAS for another 7 months both in the upper atmosphere group and as a geophysicist, processing radar data from Pine Island and the Rutford Ice Stream in West Antarctica. I moved to New Zealand in February 2010 to begin my PhD at the University of Canterbury. The aim of my PhD is to combine a number of remote sensing methods to further the understanding of grounding-zone ice dynamics in the Ross Sea sector of the Transantarctic Mountains. When I'm not studying the glaciers, I like to go mountaineering or ice climbing on them in the New Zealand Alps.

• Claudia Maturana - University of Chile, Santiago, Chile

  I have always lived in the north part of Chile, where the desert becomes dominant. From this point of view, Antarctica always seems very far away and unknown for me; eventually this place becomes very intriguing and fascinating. At school I was interested in biology and evolutionary trends in organisms, especially in extreme environments. It was only until many years later that I found my place at the Molecular Ecology Laboratory, where I could combine this childhood motivation with scientific knowledge. During my master study at the University of Chile, I developed laboratory skills using molecular tools in marine invertebrates. Ultimately, my research interests become reproduction systems in marine invertebrates at extreme environments. Now I am finishing my master's thesis, which is focuses in the reproductive strategies of a particular mode of development in Antarctica. In 2011 I become recipient of a scholarship of the Chilean Antarctic Institute (INACH), which gave me the opportunity to visit for the first time the Antarctic territory and carried out field work and to study the species of my research subject in their natural environment.

• Inga May - University of Munich, Department of Geography, Germany

  Research Activities Committee Co-Chair
  As I was born with snow-and ice sickness, I was always interested in polar regions and during my studies in physical geography at the university of Munich my research got more and more focused on arctic sciences. Since 2008 I have been working on my PhD thesis which is embedded in the Canadian ArcticNet program and deals with the possibility to detect permafrsot changes by means of satellite images. My test site is located in Northern Quebec, Nunvik around the small Inuit village of Umiujaq and twice a year I spend some time in this area in order to do some field work. I will finish my PhD in November 2011. For the first time I participated in an APECS event in 2009 during a workshop in Victoria. Since then, I am an active member and have already been involved in the organization of workshops, working groups and other activities. In 2010/2011 I also became a Council member and the Co-Chair of the APECS's RAC.

• Benjamin Merkel - Tromsø University, Norway / Germany

  I did my undergrad studies in Biology at the University of Bremen at the German North Sea coast. During my 3rd year of study I took part in the ERASMUS exchange program which enabled me to go to UNIS (The University Center in Svalbard). On Spitsbergen I gathered my first experiences in the field of polar science and decided to dedicate my Bachelor Thesis to an arctic project, namely "Molecular taxonomy and Population Structure of Calanus glacialis in a high Arctic fjord". During my time at UNIS I got the opportunity to continue my studies within Polar marine biology, doing a Master of Science in the field of marine ecology at Tromsø University, Norway. Within my studies I am working on the first population estimation of the northern most harbour seal population which is situated on an island off the west coast of Spitsbergen island. Recently I am also started working in ReCO (Research Outreach and Communication) which is a group dedicated to the task of improving the communication of science outside the research community using several different tools.

• Pablo Nicolás Núnez Pölcher - Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina

  I am Pablo Pölcher, a 29-year-old Biology student (specializing in biophysics) at the Universidad de Buenos Aires. I am currently working on my thesis about the use of conductive organic polymers in biosensors, and I will most probably be graduating by July 2012. My final degree will be a «licenciatura», which is a close equivalent of an M.Sc. in biology. After graduating, I look forward to pursuing a Ph.D. in physics or engineering focused on the development of measurement equipment (mainly geophysics and electrochemistry). Before starting to study Biology, I worked as a programmer at several places, and also as a freelancer, mostly doing programming in C/C++, Perl and scripting in PHP and ASP. I am currently working at the IAA on hydrology and glaciology, where I collaborate with a multidisciplinary team of geologists, biologists and chemists. My first Antarctic campaign was during the 2010/2011 austral summer at Jubany Antarctic Station, where I will return again this summer. Apart from my native language, Spanish, I speak English, German and Finnish fluently, and to a lesser extent Swedish, Japanese and French. I am also currently learning Russian.

• Ana Salomé - Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal

  Presently I work as a Manager of Science and Technology at the Portuguese Polar Program (PROPOLAR) coordinated by Dr Gonçalo Vieira. I'm graduated as Forest Engineer by the Agrarian School of Coimbra. I'm doing my masters in Geografical Information Systems and Spatial Modelling applied to Planning at the University of Lisbon.

• Julia Schmale - Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz, Germany

  Research Activities Committee Co-Chair 
  I am an environmental engineer specialized in contaminated soil remediation and waste management. I studied at the University of Leoben, Austria, and spent approximately two years in Concepción, Chile, during this time doing some practical work in organic waste management. So, how did I end up with atmospheric science in Polar regions? After having learned a lot about anthropogenic emissions to soil, water and air and how they can be mitigated, I thought exploring the effects of atmospheric emissions would very much complete the picture. So, I started a PhD performing aircraft-based aerosol mass spectrometric measurements. My first campaign was on long-range transport pollution over Greenland during the International Polar Year in 2008. This experience got me hooked on studying Polar aerosol and was the motivation to join APECS. I also had the chance to measure a 3 months old volcanic aerosol plume from the Okmok and Kasatochi eruptions in the tropopause region over Central and Western Europe in fall 2008. After having explored a very little bit of Arctic aerosol, I had the chance to measure particles in Sub-Antarctica for three months on Bird Island, South Georgia, a research station operated by the British Antarctic Survey. As a visiting scientist at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Edinburgh, Scotland, my task was to find out about the contribution of sea bird emissions to the local submicron aerosol by studying particle chemical composition with specific focus on biogenic compounds and ammonia. Since March 2011 I am the chair of the research activities committee.

• Nikolas Sellheim - University of Lapland, Rovaniemi, Finland / Northern Institute for Environmental and Minority Law (NIEM), Arctic Centre, University of Lapland

  Membership and Inolvement Committee Co-Chair
  I was born in northern central Germany, surrounded by agriculture and forests. At some point in my early 20s, after school and social service and a failed attempt to get really interested in History and Philosphy, I moved to Berlin and became a Veterinary Assistant. Yet, also this profession was not the purpose of my life. Therefore, I began studying Scandinavian Studies, due to my deep interest and fascination for the North. But before I even realized, I made a choice that changed my entire life: I chose to take a one-year break from my studies in order to venture to Rovaniemi, Finland, to do the Arctic Studies Program (ASP). While doing that, the fascination for the Arctic grabbed me and therefore I expanded the ASP to the Bachelor of Circumpolar Studies, finishing it while also finishing the BA Scandinavian Studies. Ultimately, after graduation, I had to go to Akureyri, Iceland, to do the MA in Polar Law. I am about to start my LL.D. at the University of Lapland on the legitimacy of the EU in Arctic governance with a special emphasis on sealing and whaling while continuing working for NIEM.

• Philipp Semenchuck - Tromsø University, Norway

  Born 29 August 1980 and growing up in Munich, Germany, I studied biology beginning in Heidelberg,Germany, and soon changed to the university of Vienna, Austria, where I finished my studies witha diploma in ecology (equivalent to MSc). During my study period I joined the ERASMUS exchange program which brought me to Bergen, Norway, for one semester, and subsequently lead to building up contacts with researchers working in Svalbard who offered me a master/ diploma thesis in cooperation with the university in Tromsø, Norway, with extensive fieldwork in Adventdalen near Longyearbyen, Svalbard. The diploma project was on the influence of experimentally changed snow cover regimes (snow fences) on plant phenology and reproduction of over 8 vascular plant species, and the resulting thesis was published in January 2011. While finishing up my thesis and studies in Vienna, the same project received grants for a PhD position starting in June 2009 for which I successfully applied. My ongoing PhD work is on the same field site as the diploma project and focuses on some details concerning plant phenology and reproduction - thereby continuing my diploma work - and on active layer and permafrost processes leading to CO2 emissions from high arctic tundra. My advisors are Elisabeth Cooper (Tromsø University) and Bo Elberling (Copenhagen University).

• Paloma Serrano - Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Germany/Spain

  Born in Madrid, Spain, I showed great interest in Biology and Space from early years. I studied a double major in Biochemistry and Biology and graduated from Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain. My last academic year took place in Lund University, Sweden, where Microbiology in extreme environments and Astrobiology became my main interest. Over my time at college I got involved in different projects concerning Mars analogue microbial ecosystems on Earth. Trying to follow this line as a graduate student, I had the opportunity to join the European Space Agency in the Netherlands as part of a two- year training programme. In the Life Support section, I participated in ExoMars-related projects, involving different kinds of extremophiles from hyperthermophiles to psychrophiles. The latter caught my attention despite the difficulties when trying to cultivate them sometimes. I find extremely interesting the fact that they are potential candidates for past or present life forms outside the Earth due to their high resistance to hostile conditions as well as their ability to adapt to changing environments. Focusing on this research topic, I started my PhD in the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in Potsdam, Germany. I am studying the survival of archaea from Siberian permafrost when they are exposed to Mars simulated conditions in both Earth and Space.

• Ines Tavernier - Universiteit Gent, Belgium

  After finishing her biology (zoology) studies in 2007, Ines Tavernier decided to follow a master after master in marine and lacustrine sciences at Ghent University. Her dissertation focused on the Mid Holocene Hypsithermal as an analogue to framework the effect of future climate anomalies on Maritime Antarctic lakes. She started her PhD in 2008 and is working on a palaeolimnological reconstruction of Holocene climate changes to study the effect on ice sheet dynamics and lacustrine microbial communities in East Antarctica. Ines is currently in the final stage of her research.

• Rosa Rut Thorisdottir - University of Paris, France

  APECS Social Sciences Coordinator
  I obtained my undergraduate education in General Cultural Anthropology at the University of Iceland, Reykjavik, focusing on anthropology of gender as well as northern studies with a field trip to Eastern Greenland. This was followed by a Masters' degree in Visual Anthropology at the Goldsmiths College in London, leading to a Ph.D thesis in Visual Anthropology at the University of Paris 7, under the supervision of Professor Pascal Dibie. The thesis explores the potential values of visual documents for the populations they represent and their legal rights to claim these documents. Main research interests include Inuit cultures; cultural property rights; cultural heritage and analysis of visual documents.

• Anton Van de Putte - Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Beligum

  APECS Belgium
  Anton Van de Putte is a Marine Biologist with a strong interest in the role of fish in the Southern Ocean Ecosystem. He received his PhD in 2008 for his research on the ecology and evolution of Southern Ocean fish, whit special focus on the mesopelagic lantern fish Electrona antarctica. He has experience in Science Education and Outreach. Currently, he is a science officer for the Belgian SCAR-Marbin and AntaBIF projects that aim to provide free and open access to Antarctic biodiversity data.

• Tristy Vick-Majors - Montana State University, United States

  I study microbial ecology, limnology and biogeochemistry in icy, cold environments. I have spent three field seasons in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica sampling permanently ice-covered lakes, and will soon visit the West Antarctic Ice Sheet to study subglacial Lake Whillans, which lies 800 meters beneath the ice. I am fascinated with microbial processes and the ecology of terrestrial aquatic and marine systems. I am constantly looking for new ways to form collaborations and to improve networking opportunities for graduate students and other aspiring scientists. I am currently co-chair of the graduate student group, Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) at my home institution of Montana State University, and am working on an array of projects that aim to sustain a supportive community for female graduate students. In my spare time, I love to take in the beauty of Montana by hiking and learning to cross-country ski, read, and work on fixing up my tiny house.

• Mariette Wheeler - Endangered Wildlife Trust, South Africa

  Standing on the beach as a child, I used to stare at the horizon and wonder what it would feel like to sail away until I only had the ocean surrounding me. Later, when I learned about sub-Antarctic Marion Island, it became my dream to go there. It came true in 2004, when I went to the island to conduct field work towards my PhD studies. My PhD work focused on the effects of human activities on the seabirds and seals at the island. Sailing away and living on the remote island for a year! I obtained my PhD in 2009. I am currently working as an environmental consultant investigating the impacts of developments on fauna and flora as well as on water resources. I am based in South Africa. We have an Internet network entitled South, for people interested in sub-Antarctic and Antarctic research and the environment. Unfortunately APECS is still relatively unknown here. I know many of the researchers working on Marion Island and Gough Island as well as staff members from the South African National Antarctic Programme (SANAP).

• Christie Wood - Clark University, Massachusetts, USA

  I am a graduate student in the Geography department at Clark University in the United States. I work with Professor Karen Frey as part of her newly formed Polar Science Research Lab. I am interested in how variations in climate impact the Arctic marine system. In particular, I am looking at how changes in Arctic sea ice affect the ecology and biogeochemistry of the Arctic Ocean. My dissertation research focuses on understanding the impacts of sea ice decline in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas on the dynamics of dissolved organic matter, which plays an important role in the marine ecosystem as both a carbon source for the microbial food web and as an inhibitor of light. This work is carried out through a combination of field measurements (as part of NASA's ICESCAPE mission), lab experiments, and satellite remote sensing observations. Prior to working at Clark, I earned two bachelors degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The first was in mathematics and the second was in earth, atmospheric and planetary science. After that, I completed a master's degree in physical oceanography in the joint program between MIT and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.