Growing the next generation of climate scientists Annabelle Johnston Communications Intern
As Woodwell Climate Research Center has evolved, former students have taken on new roles and leadership positions. The center is training - and learning from - the next generation of scientists through education programs that include undergraduates, graduate students, and research assistants from a diverse range of backgrounds. Education opportunities take a range of forms,
but are united in their student-driven approach and foundation in the impactoriented principles that underlie all of the Center’s research. The Polaris Project was founded in 2008 by Drs. Robert Max Holmes and John Schade with the shared goals of advancing scientific understanding of Arctic ecosystems, training the next generation of Arctic scientists, and communicating that science to the public. Prior to entering the field, undergraduate students accepted into
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the program undergo a series of virtual training sessions to practice transforming observations into questions to guide their subsequent research. Students read academic papers and familiarize themselves with the research process as they develop their own interests. Then, students travel to Alaska to conduct research in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta and return to Woods Hole to conduct two weeks of data processing at the Woodwell Climate campus. A student-centered approach underlies the program from start to finish. “I’m there to support and train the students, not conduct my own research,” said Project Director Dr. Sue Natali. Each year, all students lead a presentation of their research at the American Geophysical Union conference, and the program produces a few student-led or co-authored journal articles. While COVID-19 forced a revamping of this year’s Polaris Project to be primarily online, this cohort of students is being offered a chance to participate in the field expedition to Alaska when travel can resume. Natali also developed a small pilot mentorship initiative that paired students applying for the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program with past recipients. She hopes to
expand the initiative in coming years to support students applying to a range of graduate programs. The success rate for fellowships of past Polaris participants has been significantly higher than the national average, in part because of the mentoring students receive, the students’ research experiences, and the overall leadership strengths of the students who participate in this program. However, training scientists requires more than providing data analysis tools. The Polaris Project teaches students to conduct research that values and respects local and Indigenous peoples whose land they work on, following guidelines and principles outlined by Polaris alumna Darcy Peter. “We want to create an inclusive scientific community,” said Natali. “Now, we’re providing students with opportunities to learn from the writings of Indigenous knowledge holders. We’re asking them to think critically about the human impact of both climate change and the work we do.” To further foster a diverse scientific community, Woodwell Climate is a member of the Diversity Advisory Committee, which runs the Woods Hole Partnership Education Program (PEP). PEP was founded in 2009 to address underrepresented minorities in the sciences, and has hosted over 150 college students across the six participating Woods Hole research facilities. Understanding human impact is also at the core of the Solaris Program, a joint initiative of Woodwell Climate and its partner in Brazil, the Amazon Environmental Research Institute
Climate Science for Change
Fall 2020
