Scott Polar Research InstituteRecent news
For articles in the media, see our Media pages.
# UK announces new Arctic defence strategy
4th October, 2018
Cambridge geographer Dr. Richard Powell was interviewed by Radio Canada International about the recent announcement of a new British Arctice Defence Strategy.
# Professor Julian Dowdeswell appointed Academic Trustee of Royal Museums Greenwich
25th September, 2018
Congratulations to Professor Julian Dowdeswell, Director of SPRI, who has been appointed by the Prime Minister as an Academic Trustee to Royal Museums Greenwich for the next four years.
# Ragnhild Dale wins Public Engagement with Research Award
2nd August, 2018
Congratulations to PhD student Ragnhild Dale (SPRI), who has been awarded a Vice Chancellor's Public Engagement with Research Award.
Dale was a researcher and assistant director on a three-day staging of a mock trial version of the ground-breaking lawsuit over Arctic oil, where Norwegian environmental organisations Greenpeace and Nature and Youth are suing the Norwegian Government for allegedly allowing unconstitutional oil exploration in the Barents Sea. The project, "Trial of the Century", invited expert witnesses from academia, industry and NGOs to testify in the production in Kirkenes, bringing the drama of the trial directly to the people who live and work in the north.
# Polar Encounters - SPRI's exhibition of polar art opens today in London
30th July, 2018
Polar Encounters, an exhibition of 200 years of polar art featuring work from the SPRI art collection and by the Friends of SPRI artists in residence, is open at Bonhams in London.
This free exhibition brings together European and Inuit artworks from the last two centuries to explore the Arctic, and eight of our recent artists in residence have their bold new works on show from both the Arctic and the Antarctic.
The exhibition is open Monday-Friday, 10-4 at Bonhams, 101 New Bond Street, London from 30 July - 17 August.
# PhD student Morgan Seag working to improve diversity and inclusion in polar research
16th July, 2018
PhD student Morgan Seag is working to improve diversity and inclusion in polar research. She was one of several Cambridge geographers attending POLAR2018 last month, a conference of 2500 researchers, science supporters, and policymakers working on the Arctic, Antarctic and global cryosphere. The conference featured a 300-person luncheon and panel discussion on gender equality, titled "From Entering the Field to Taking the Helm, Women's Perspectives on Polar Research." Morgan sat on the panel of five alongside researchers and institutional leaders from several countries. Panelists explored the accomplishments, challenges, and prospects for women in the field, discussing the experience of women at all career stages and emphasizing the need for greater inclusion of LGBTQ+ researchers, indigenous women, and women of color. The discussion integrated both personal experiences and cutting-edge research to highlight productive paths toward a stronger and more inclusive future for polar research.
Morgan is continuing to work on these issues through her PhD research in the department; as a Council member for the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists; and through international research and policy collaborations.
# Dr Richard Powell summoned as witness before Environmental Audit Committee
16th July, 2018
In July 2018, Dr Richard Powell appeared as a witness before the UK Parliament's Environmental Audit Committee's inquiry into the Changing Arctic, to provide expertise in UK Arctic social sciences and humanities and advise on formation of UK Arctic research and policy.
# The Changing Arctic?
11th July, 2018
Geographer Richard Powell will appear today, 11 July 2018, as a witness before the Environmental Audit Committee's inquiry into the Changing Arctic. The inquiry is assessing the UK Government's Arctic policy, and examining whether the UK, as one of the Arctic's nearest neighbours, should be doing more to protect this vulnerable region. Richard will provide expertise in UK Arctic social sciences and humanities and advise on formation of UK Arctic research and policy.
# Drs Ian Willis and Alison Banwell awarded Fellowships at the University of Colorado Boulder
16th May, 2018
Ian Willis and Alison Banwell have been awarded, respectively, a 1-year sabbatical fellowship and a 2-year post-doctoral fellowship to undertake collaborative work with Waleed Abdalati and Michael Willis (no relation!) at the Co-operative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) and Ted Scambos at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) at the University of Colorado Boulder. They will advance their current work investigating the surface hydrology of the Greenland Ice Sheet, and the surface hydrology and stability of Antarctic ice shelves.
# Research Assistant/Associate in Remote Sensing of Forests
1st May, 2018
Applications are invited for a Research Assistant/ Research Associate to work under the direction of Dr Gareth Rees, for a British Council funded research project mapping the distribution and spatial characteristics of forests in northern Russia, using remote sensing techniques.
The closing date for applications is 25th May 2018.
# Major research project planned into collapse of the Thwaites Glacier
30th April, 2018
Dr Poul Christoffersen will co-lead one of eight projects in a new joint UK-US research programme, that is one of the most detailed and extensive examinations of a massive Antarctic glacier ever undertaken. Dr Christoffersen's project, Thwaites Interdisciplinary Margin Evolution (TIME), will investigate how the margins of the Thwaites Glacier drainage basin will evolve and influence ice flow over the coming decades.