2026-2027

Austin’s interests within the fields of ecology and evolutionary biology are broad, ranging from individual physiology to community ecology. His dissertation research uses hibernating mammals as models to elucidate the eco-evolutionary drivers of individual life-history strategies. He previously completed a M.S. under Dr. Courtney Conway at the University of Idaho studying behavior and demography of the federally threatened northern Idaho ground squirrel.

Katie’s research focuses on how climate change is altering the surface of the Arctic and, in turn, how those changing landscapes impact carbon cycling. She uses remote sensing to detect hot-spots of permafrost thaw, then visits those sites to collect field data on soils, plants, thaw properties, and carbon cycling. These data help identify risks of permafrost thaw across the Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska, and aid in forecasting how the terrestrial Arctic will change as it continues warming.

Rose M. Cory is a Professor of Earth and Environmental Science at the University of Michigan. She studies biogeochemistry along the land-water continuum in arctic and temperate biomes. Her research has focused on photochemistry and carbon cycling to understand processes controlling greenhouse gas emissions from soils, streams and lakes.

Dan has been studying marine predators for over 50 years and is interested in how animal work, how they manage to live where they live and why they do what they do. Dan’s research has included adaptations of animals to life in the marine environment, especially the movements, foraging ecology and energetics of pinnipeds and seabirds. Over the years Dan has worked with the US, British, New Zealand, French, and Australian national Antarctic programs.

Joanna Davies is a paleoceanographer whose research focuses on understanding how sea ice in the Arctic responded to climate change in the past. Using lipids produced by algae living in sea ice that are deposited onto the ocean floor when the ice melts, we can reconstruct sea ice changes back thousands or even millions of years ago. Joanna has taken part in numerous research cruises to the Arctic, to collect marine sediment cores used for this paleoclimate reconstructions. Joanna’s current project focuses on understanding the role that sea ice played in freshening the oceans in the past, which can have broad impacts on our global climate.

Bree researches human-animal relationships in North America as a researcher at the University of Wyoming. Her primary focus is on the traditional foodways of Alaska Natives in the Interior, particularly focusing on the history of fishing. Bree studies fishing through a combination of work with descendant communities, fatty acid residue analysis, and studying artifacts excavated from sites across the Tanana Valley, where she grew up. In her free time, Bree loves running, making delicious food for her family and friends, and hiking the trails of the Mountain West.

Louise is a permafrost scientist and periglacial geomorphologist who studies how Arctic landscapes respond to past and present climate change. Her research explores the processes driving permafrost degradation and the associated geomorphological and hydrological changes that take place as a result. Louise uses a combination of in-situ field observations, remote sensing, and geologic dating methods to improve our understanding of Arctic landscape change.

Clare is a postdoctoral researcher interested in the changing Arctic environment and its impact on marine ecosystems. She uses remote sensing with measurements of water and light collected during research cruises to study phytoplankton, the major source of energy supporting local ecosystems. Her current research focuses on how sea ice and water masses control phytoplankton communities and their growth cycles.

Amanda Gavin is a limnologist who focuses on freshwater lake response to environment change. Her research approaches emphasize community engagement and integration of knowledge sources. In South Greenland, Amanda’s research weaves contemporary and paleo-limnological techniques with Indigenous Knowledge towards a holistic understanding of carbon cycling and lake level in agricultural lake systems.

Tom is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Alaska Fairbanks studying ecosystem change in the Arctic. He is particularly interested in interactions between animals and the cryosphere – how changing permafrost and snow affect wildlife, and how animals in turn alter permafrost and snow conditions. His current research focuses on beaver engineering in northwestern Alaska.

James is a PhD student in the Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology at Colorado State University. James is interested in population dynamics, demographics, and animal space use, with special interest in how these processes interact with one another and change through time. His current research investigates the demographic and population level consequences of differential migration and its associated carry-over effects on brant geese. In his free time, James enjoys fly fishing, hunting, hiking, and wildlife photography.

Julia is a groundwater hydrologist studying coastal groundwater dynamics along temperate and Arctic coastlines. Her research incorporates field campaigns and uses numerical models to better understand the two-way interactions between groundwater and the ocean. Julia is particularly interested in how sea-level rise, extreme weather events, and permafrost thaw impact the health and function of coastal ecosystems.

Rachel studies the behavior and ecology of marine mammals and how they relate to oceanographic processes. Rachel has a mixed academic background, having studied both chemical oceanography and ecology and evolutionary biology, and enjoys working at the interface of those two fields. Some of Rachel’s recent work includes: characterizing a major marine heatwave in the North Pacific and its effects on the reproduction and foraging ecology of the northern elephant seal; niche partitioning and foraging behavior of Weddell seals and penguins in the Ross Sea; and the movement and behavior of California sea lions in response to predators and human disturbance.​

Abby is a paleoclimatologist interested in understanding climate dynamics in time periods that were warmer than today. She uses ice cores from the Allan Hills, East Antarctica–home to the oldest ice ever found on Earth–to uncover aspects of the climate over the past several million years. This old ice has many peculiarities, and some of her work aims to better decipher the climate archive within this ancient ice using geochemical techniques. By using high-resolution measurements of methane, water isotopes, and dust, the fidelity of the climate archive at the Allan Hills can be better interpreted and help researchers understand the ice core record that is now being extended millions of years into the past.

Dave is a professor of population ecology that studies the demography, population dynamics, trophic dynamics, and life history evolution of vertebrates in changing environments. Recent interests include studies of the trade-offs and fitness consequences of differential migration strategies in Arctic geese amidst climate change. On a daily basis he enjoys mentoring graduate students and teaching quantitative ecology to young learners.

Margaret is a physical oceanographer studying ice-ocean interactions across scales from the subpolar North Atlantic to Greenland’s glacial fjords. She uses observations from ship-based and moored instruments to understand exchanges of heat and freshwater in the ocean around East Greenland. These dynamics are crucial to the large-scale ocean circulation and climate as well as to sustaining vibrant ecosystems that are central to local communities.

Logan is an ecophysiologist with a primary interest in understanding how marine megafauna populations alter their physiology and demography as a response to changes in their environment. To address these questions, Logan collects minimally invasive tissue samples (e.g., blood/skin) and then uses molecular and endocrinological markers to answer specific questions about population health and reproduction/stress physiology. He works on multiple species of large marine megafauna worldwide and continuously advocates for ethical animal research and effective conservation and policy. Much of Logan’s work to date has been focused along the Antarctic Peninsula, the South/Central Pacific, and the coast of California.

Ignatius is a climatologist at the Polar Science Center, Applied Physics Laboratory, and an affiliate associate professor in the School of Oceanography at the University of Washington in Seattle. Dr. Rigor studies sea ice, and how it interacts with the atmosphere and ocean. His primary tools for research are observations from drifting buoys and satellites.

Kiera is a PhD student who studies ice–ocean interactions and basal melting processes in Antarctica. Her project focuses on using airborne radar sounding to characterize subglacial channels beneath Antarctic ice shelves and assess their role in freshwater transport to the Southern Ocean. This work combines geophysical data analysis with numerical modeling to better understand ice sheet stability and future sea level rise. Outside of science, she enjoys traveling, exploring new cultures, and learning new aspects of life.

Abbey is a field ecologist with the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) in Domain 18/19 (Tundra/Taiga). Her role is training and leading crews of early-career biological field technicians to collect high quality ecological data focused on NEON’s flora field sampling protocols. Outside of work, Abbey spends most of her time training and racing her team of distance sled dogs.

Julia is interested in how a warming Arctic is affecting the carbon cycle, with a focus on methane dynamics from permafrost thaw. Specifically, she studies upland tundra to understand how these landscapes act as methane sources or sinks. Her research investigates both the spatial and temporal variability of methane fluxes and the role of old permafrost carbon in contributing to methane emissions.

Stephanie Wissel is an experimental astroparticle physicist who searches for subatomic particles known as neutrinos when they interact with ice. She is interested in using neutrinos to explore extreme astrophysical environments. She has been working on experiments in both Greenland and Antarctica since 2012.

Sebastian is an ecologist focused on arctic community ecology. He is currently working on his PhD, studying the biodiversity impacts of beaver ponds – which are rapidly expanding in number across the Arctic – in arctic areas underlain by permafrost. Sebastian harbors a love and enthusiasm about the tundra and the mountains, and is passionate about sharing knowledge of the unique, beautiful arctic ecosystem.