Inaugural Mertz Fellows announced
Inaugural Mertz Fellows Melissa Gerwin and Amy Macfalane, Dr Xavier Mertz clears snow from verandah at Winter Quarters in Adelie Land (Unknown)(from the collections of the State Library of New South Wales), Melissa in the field, Amy in the field and Mertz in the field exploring ice ravines (Frank Hurley) (from the collections of the State Library of New South Wales).
Following the first call for applications last September, two Mertz Fellowships have been awarded, with The Swiss Polar Institute and the Antarctic Science Foundation jointly funding a Fellow.
The inaugural Mertz Fellows:
🇦🇺🇨🇭 Melissa Gerwin of the University of Tasmania, Australia, will pursue her project titled ‘A global tool for assessing high-altitude ecosystem vulnerability to warming’ at the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF (Eidg. Forschungsanstalt WSL) in Davos, Switzerland.
🇨🇭🇦🇺 Amy Macfarlane from the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF (Eidg. Forschungsanstalt WSL) in Davos, Switzerland, will pursue her project titled ‘Radiative transfer modelling applied to melting Arctic and Antarctic sea ice’ with the Australian Antarctic Program Partnership.
The official communiqué HERE
The Mertz Fellowship programme was launched last year by our friends at the Embassy of Switzerland in Australia to promote linkages between Swiss and Australian higher education and research institutions through scientific networking and joint projects.
The Mertz Fellowship programme will encourage the active involvement of early-career researchers based in Switzerland or Australia. It is open to all disciplines interested in polar regions and high-altitude areas. The fellowship collaborates with the Swiss Polar Institute and is managed by the Embassy of Switzerland in Australia. The Mertz Fellowship programme receives funding from the Swissnex network, part of the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation SERI.
The fellowship pays homage to Dr Xavier Mertz, the first Swiss polar explorer to set foot in Antarctica with the first Australasian Antarctic Expedition led by Sir Douglas Mawson (1911-1914). In addition, it acknowledges the rich and longstanding collaboration between our two nations in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean.
Melissa and Amy, congratulations and felicitations as the inaugural Mertz Fellows. We look forward to watching your progression.
We welcome the opportunity to collaborate on this eminently worthy fellowship with our friends at the Embassy of Switzerland in Australia, Caroline Bichet-Anthamatten, Emmanuel Bichet, Sébastien Monnet, Fabian Grass and the excellent Danièle Rod of the Swiss Polar Institute.