SUSTAINABILITY I Jesus College Annual Report 2022
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Mapping out a career in glaciology An interview with Professor Julian Dowdeswell, former Director of the Scott Polar Research Institute, and Brian Buckley Fellow in Polar Science at Jesus College1 The past year has been one of surprises for Professor Dowdeswell. He learned that an Antarctic bay would be named in his honour and, on a personal level, he discovered the joy of grandparenthood and having more time with the family. Our Editor asked about his career so far, and his plans for further travel, research and teaching.
How and when did you become interested in glaciology? As a child I loved maps, a passion that continued as an adult – as a young father, I’d pour over Ordnance Survey and road maps in the car waiting for my daughter to come out of ballet class. This interest in maps led me to Geography, and I was encouraged at school by excellent and enthusiastic teachers to apply to Cambridge. Coming up to Jesus 1977, I was taught by scientists from the Scott Polar Research Institute as part of the
Julian Dowdeswell with Prince Albert of Monaco
Geography degree, and I often sought out the quiet space of the Institute’s Polar Library. I became fascinated by the polar regions and as an undergraduate I put together a small expedition to study a part of the Vatnajökull ice cap in Iceland. One of the expedition patrons was Sir Alan Cottrell, who was Master of Jesus at the time. Another Fellow of the College, Dr Stan Evans, provided training in survey techniques and my Director of Studies, Dr Robin Donkin, applied his usual rigorous eye to my proposal. From the observations gathered on this expedition I wrote my first scientific paper, which was published in the Journal of Glaciology in 1982.
Tell me about your recently published research In 2019, I was Chief Scientist on the Weddell Sea Expedition off the eastern Antarctic Peninsula, in the area where
