Update
Now Archived! PolarConnect event with Jennifer Bault and researchers Hongjie Xie and Yongli Gao studying Seasonal Ice Production in the Ross Sea in Antarctica. You can access this and other events on the PolarConnect Archives site.
What Are They Doing?
More information about the PIPERS project and a cruise blog can be found here.
Where Are They?
Latest Journals
Jennifer developed her love of nature and science at a young age, a result of spending time on her parent’s farm and from many family camping trips around the US. She became a third generation teacher in 1997 and has never looked back. Teaching is a natural fit for her due to her own love of learning. She teaches AP Environmental Science and AP Biology at Nicolet Union High School just north of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She holds a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction and a principal’s and C & I director’s license. She is looking to complete a PhD in Environmental Science with a concentration in Science Education Research. Most recently, Mrs. Bault traveled to Nzega, Tanzania in 2014 with CETUSA and completed American Wilderness Leadership Training in Wyoming in 2015. Every experience makes its way into her classroom and enhances her teaching and interactions with her students. She also loves to engage her students in learning experiences outside of the classroom through a variety of field trips, including an outdoor education overnight camping trip. Jennifer is an avid hiker and enjoys camping, reading, and traveling with her husband and two teenage daughters when not in the classroom.
Stephen Ackley is a research associate professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio, and has worked and conducted sea-ice research in Antarctica for more than 30 years. He previously worked with the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) and then joined the Department of Earth and Environmental Science at the University of Texas San Antonio in 2006. Ackley Point in Antarctica was named to honor Ackley for his outstanding sea-ice work by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. Ackley Point is an ice covered point located near McMurdo Sound.
Hongjie Xie is a professor at the Department of Geological Sciences, University of Texas at San Antonio. His specialty is remote sensing for hydrology and cryosphere studies. In-situ measurements and field experiences are crucial in helping scientists to understand and interpret what we see from the satellite images and to develop and improve algorithms for retrieving geophysical properties of objects imaged from satellite sensors. Since 2006, he and his research team have been traveled (over 10 times) to the three Polar Regions (Arctic, Antarctic, and Tibetan Plateau) for data collections and experiments. His main research focus has been on mapping sea ice, snow cover, glacier lakes and their changes under the warming climate. Since 2010, he has been a co-lead (funded by NASA and U.S. Department of Education) for summer workshops, specifically designed for K-12 educators to gaining knowledge on earth and environmental science/engineering, including the polar science and climate changes.