In addition to Lynn, Kasper, Erica, Hilda, and Bo, the Joint Science Education Project teacher team includes Rikke Jorgensen and Gifford Wong. Let's meet them now:
Hi, my name is Rikke, when trying to pronounce it, think Reggae without the “a” at the end.
I’m 30, born and raised on Bornholm, which is a small island in the Baltic sea. I moved to the capital when I was 20 and started at the University of Copenhagen, where I studied geology. I spent a semester at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where I was studying glaciers.
After 6 years in school, I went to Nuuk in Greenland to teach, and I fell in love with the job after teaching my first class. Now I’m on my 5th year of teaching and I can’t imagine anything better. After two years in Nuuk, I went back to Denmark, mostly because I missed my family, and because I had a tiny animal waiting for me. A small 8 week old Great Dane, who is now 2 years old and a big baby. Don’t get me started on him, because I won’t be able to stop:)
I have been lucky enough to have been a part of the summer school (JSEP) for four years now. The first year, 2011, I was just a part of the Science Education days, and I got to go to the icecap which was cool, but me and heights are not the best combo, so I spent a lot of the time in a pressure chamber to get enough oxygen. But I did get to see a lot of the research, and those of you who are going there have something to look forward to.
The second and third year, I was one of the teachers during the summer school, just like I am this year. My fields of expertise are rocks, minerals, glaciers, landscapes and fossils, and my mission on this trip is to convince you all that rocks are cooler than flowers. So don’t listen to Kasper because he will try to tell you otherwise.
Gifford Wong will be joining JSEP for Arctic Science Education Week.
Hello. I am Gifford Wong, a PhD candidate in Earth Sciences at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. I am investigating the effects of climate change on the chemistry of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. This research involves collecting snow and ice core samples along a snowmobile traverse route across northwestern Greenland and at the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) Divide ice core site. I’m currently working on a paper correlating changes in patterns of snow accumulation in northwestern Greenland with observed changes in temperature and atmospheric circulation.
I am also an NSF Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) Fellow in Dartmouth College’s Polar Environmental Change IGERT, and I’m very interested in the role science may play in informing environmental policy. I have had the opportunity to evaluate and assess the relationships between climate science and Arctic/Greenlandic policy. In particular, the Dartmouth IGERT summer field seminar provided structured opportunities to converse with Greenlandic policy makers and indigenous stakeholders in the Greenland capital city of Nuuk. My research has also provided me with exceptional opportunities to observe the impacts on the Polar Regions of climate change and human activities like mineral exploration, community adaptation, and infrastructure development. Between my pre-grad school work and current graduate research, I have taken 12 trips to Greenland and Antarctica, spanning a total of 40 months over the past 12 years.
Gifford Wong brings both Arctic and Antarctic experience to JSEP.
I’m originally from Sacramento, California, and prior to graduate school have lived in Denver, CO; Washington, DC; Vale, OR; Jackson, WY; Hobart, Tasmania (Australia); and McMurdo Station, Antarctica. Before graduate school, I earned my B.A. in Asian American Studies from the University of California, Berkeley, my Honours in Antarctic Studies from the University of Tasmania, Hobart, served in the AmeriCorps* National Civilian Community Corps, fought wildland fires in the Western US, and worked with Helicopter Operations supporting science with the US Antarctic Program. Dartmouth College has been a wonderful scientific experience for me. I have been able to develop and deepen my awareness of the planet’s frozen regions, or cryosphere.
Outside school, I am an avid improv “player”, having participated in improv comedy troupes since I was an undergraduate student with UC Berkeley’s East-West Players. As I develop my climate science literacy, I am discovering the power of evocative and accessible communication. I also enjoy camping, hiking, volleyball, tennis, basketball and eating (tasty foods).
I’m really looking forward to meeting everyone in Greenland.