Polar STEAM 2026-2027 Cohort

I am honored to have been selected to be a fellow in the 2026-2027 Cohort of PolarSTEAM. Polar STEAM is a U.S. National Science Foundation-funded program that facilitates virtual and field-based collaboration between educators, artists and writers, and polar researchers in an effort to expand understanding of the polar regions through teaching, art, and the written word. Polar STEAM, which stands for science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics, is led by an interdisciplinary team at Oregon State University via a cooperative agreement with the U.S. National Science Foundation. (PolarSTEAM, 2026)

I have been paired with Joanna Davies, from the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University in New York City.

PolarSTEAM Fellows

Joanna is a paleoceanographer whose research focuses on understanding how Arctic sea ice responded to climate change in the past. Using lipids produced by algae living in sea ice that are deposited onto the ocean floor when the ice melts, we can reconstruct sea ice changes back thousands or even millions of years ago. Joanna has taken part in numerous research cruises to the Arctic to collect marine sediment cores used for paleoclimate reconstructions. Joanna’s current project focuses on understanding the role that sea ice played in past ocean freshening, which can have broad impacts on our global climate. (PolarSTEAM, 2026)

Joanna is focused on the Younger Dryas period of Earth's history, when Earth entered an abrupt cool period as the glaciers had retreated. She is investigating whether this period and melting sea ice from Greenland played a role in slowing the great conveyor belt that drives Earth's climate system. Together, we will build an education resource based on her data that is accessible for all levels of K-12 education and extended learning opportunities. Our research will integrate art into the science lesson/activity.

Much more will be coming soon as we enter the brainstorming and resource building phase of our collaboration.