Statement of Purpose
Hello out there.
My name is Vanessa. I am 20 years old, and this blog will be about my trip south for the winter.
Very south.
I'm a chemistry major at the University of Washington in Seattle, but from November 27th until sometime in February, I am moonlighting as a glaciology intern on an National Science Foundation-sponsored expedition to the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. Dr. Kenichi Matsuoka, a faculty member here at UW's Earth and Space Sciences Department, is heading up the project. (You can read more about Kenny's work here.)
I heard about the project through the Chemistry Department advisors and applied thinking I wouldn't be selected because the project is outside of my major. Much to my surprise, I was notified in September that I had gotten the position. I had to get a massive physical and have my wisdom teeth taken out -- and get through the mountains of paperwork! But here I am, 2.5 weeks from deployment. I'm very excited, and not at all scared of the cold (I grew up in North Dakota! Come on!) but the whole idea of going on ice feels very surreal right now.
If you're wondering about the URL, it's a reference to the telegraph the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen sent to his rival, the Englishman Robert Falcon Scott, in 1910. Amundsen and Scott were racing to be the first to reach the South Pole. By the time Scott reached Melbourne, Australia, Amundsen had already set off for Antarctica, leaving word for Scott: "Am going south. Amundsen" Long story short, Amundsen won and Scott's party died on the ice. (I'm going to choose to believe that this only happens to intrepid explorers, not glaciologists).
Well, I suppose that's all for right now. I'll be updating more as prep work starts to ramp up.
My name is Vanessa. I am 20 years old, and this blog will be about my trip south for the winter.
Very south.
I'm a chemistry major at the University of Washington in Seattle, but from November 27th until sometime in February, I am moonlighting as a glaciology intern on an National Science Foundation-sponsored expedition to the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. Dr. Kenichi Matsuoka, a faculty member here at UW's Earth and Space Sciences Department, is heading up the project. (You can read more about Kenny's work here.)
I heard about the project through the Chemistry Department advisors and applied thinking I wouldn't be selected because the project is outside of my major. Much to my surprise, I was notified in September that I had gotten the position. I had to get a massive physical and have my wisdom teeth taken out -- and get through the mountains of paperwork! But here I am, 2.5 weeks from deployment. I'm very excited, and not at all scared of the cold (I grew up in North Dakota! Come on!) but the whole idea of going on ice feels very surreal right now.
If you're wondering about the URL, it's a reference to the telegraph the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen sent to his rival, the Englishman Robert Falcon Scott, in 1910. Amundsen and Scott were racing to be the first to reach the South Pole. By the time Scott reached Melbourne, Australia, Amundsen had already set off for Antarctica, leaving word for Scott: "Am going south. Amundsen" Long story short, Amundsen won and Scott's party died on the ice. (I'm going to choose to believe that this only happens to intrepid explorers, not glaciologists).
Well, I suppose that's all for right now. I'll be updating more as prep work starts to ramp up.
posted by Vanessa at 4:36 PM
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