Research scholarship commemorates Scott’s expedition

13 April 2011

New research scholarship commemorates Scott’s Antarctic expedition

To commemorate the centenary of Scott’s final expedition to the South Pole in 1911-12, a new full-cost scholarship has been awarded to an outstanding young Polar scientist from New Zealand to study at the Scott Polar Research Institute in the University of Cambridge in England.

The Scott Polar Centenary Scholarship has been awarded to Craig Stewart, who will arrive in Cambridge in October this year to start a PhD in Earth Sciences, based at the Institute.

The new scholarship is worth NZ$200,000 for three years of PhD study.

The holder of a Bachelor of Engineering degree and a Masters of Science degree in Oceanography from The University of Auckland, Craig has previously worked for the British Antarctic Survey (based in Cambridge, UK) as a field glaciologist, investigating basal melt rates on ice shelves in Antarctica and Greenland.

More recently he has worked as a marine physics technician at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) in Wellington. His numerous research projects at NIWA have included the study of coastal and offshore ocean circulation, tidal energy, turbulence under sea ice, the deployment of the first Ice Tethered Profiler in Antarctica, and the deployment of the first oceanographic mooring beneath the Ross Ice Shelf.

Whilst in Cambridge Craig will be working further on the Ross Ice Shelf, the world’s largest ice shelf, and examining the first long-term oceanographic measurements made beneath this shelf.

Associated field work for this project will see Craig travel to Scott Base and work with a New Zealand research programme supported by Antarctica New Zealand.

The purpose of Craig’s research is to improve our understanding of ice-ocean interactions, and of the effects of climate change on Antarctic ice sheet stability and consequently on sea level rise.

The scholarship is jointly funded by the Rutherford Foundation of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Antarctica New Zealand, and the Cambridge Commonwealth Trust.

Professor Margaret Brimble, Chair of the Rutherford Foundation said: "We are delighted to co-sponsor another outstanding New Zealander to study at Cambridge.

“This is a particularly special scholarship that promotes the strong collaborative relationship between our countries in Antarctic research."

ENDS

© Scoop Media