Meaningful Collaborations in Polar Research and Polar Communities

The Polar Impact Mentorship Initiative warmly invites the polar research community to join us as we explore what contributes to “successful” collaborations! During this hour-long panel discussion, we will consider collaborations through multiple lenses and embrace the benefits that come from engaging with interdisciplinary research groups, policy and decision makers, and Indigenous and local community members. Whether you are building a career in polar research, have decades of polar experience, or want to learn more about how communities, scientists, and decision makers can better work together to solve complex problems, this panel discussion will offer insights and inspiration for all!

The event will take place on February 28 from 10-11a EST | 3-4p GMT, and registration through this google form is required to receive the Zoom link. The Polar Impact Mentorship Initiative is one of many efforts led by Polar Impact, an international, inclusive network whose mission is to support, highlight, and connect racial and ethnic minorities in the polar sciences.

Register here: https://forms.gle/L4ojd9UjMCti5SMQ7

Learn more about Polar Impact here: https://www.polarimpactnetwork.org/

Panelists for this event include:

Dr. Heather Sauyaq Jean Kwamboka Gordon (PhD, MS) is the owner/principal consultant at Sauyaq Solutions, an adjunct assistant researcher at American University and affiliated faculty at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Dr. Gordon specializes in research, evaluation, and technical assistance with and for Indigenous Nations/communities and their partners. Dr. Gordon holds a PhD in Indigenous Studies with a concentration in Indigenous Sustainability. From Homer, Alaska, she is Iñupiaq and a citizen of the Nome Eskimo Community and the US.

Dr. Lauren Miller (PhD, BS) attended Oklahoma State University as an undergraduate student and the University of California Santa Barbara as a graduate student. Prior to arriving at the University of Virginia in 2018, she was a postdoctoral researcher at Rice University. ​Lauren uses the geological record to study how and why extinct and extant ice-sheets change, as well as to constrain coastal evolution, on timescales of decades to millennia. She is an advocate of meaningful collaboration, resourceful science, and holistic professional development.

Hugo Guímaro is a PhD student at the University of Coimbra (Portugal), based at the Marine and Environmental Science Centre (MARE) and the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) in the UK. His research focuses on Antarctic marine animal ecology using tools like satellite imagery, telemetry, molecular analysis, and modeling. He serves as APECS President for the 2024/25 term, actively engaging in education and outreach initiatives to raise awareness of polar science and environmental issues, and he fosters a collaborative global community among polar early career researchers. Hugo is also linked with international organisations such as SCAR and SOOS.

Dr. Clara J. M. Hoppe studied at the University of Bremen (Germany) and the University of Tasmania (Australia). She did her PhD on climate change effects on Southern Ocean phytoplankton before focussing on Arctic phytoplankton for her postdoc positions. She now works as a research scientist at the Alfred Wegener Institute – Helmholtz Centre for polar and marine research (Germany). Claras work focuses on understanding the ecophysiology of current and future phytoplankton communities, with a focus on seasons outside the summer. She has been a co-coordinator of the Ecosystems-related work on the year-long high Arctic drift expedition MOSAiC and chairs the Kongsfjorden System Flagship.