Interview with Dr. Diana Wall, University Distinguished Professor and Professor of Biology at Colorado State University. The interview begins with Wall reflecting on her childhood in Kentucky, the importance of the Girl Scouts in her life, and her early appreciation for the outdoors. She discusses her undergraduate studies in biology and botany at the University of Kentucky and her decision to stay there to pursue a doctorate degree. Wall describes her research on microscopic animals living in soils as well as her thesis on nematodes. She then discusses her postdoctoral position at University of California, Riverside and her field work in Nevada, Utah, and New Mexico. Wall explains the factors that influenced her to begin her work in Antarctica and talks about the shift from individual work to a more collaborative research environment. The interview concludes with Wall’s reflections on international collaborations, the Antarctic Treaty, and climate change.
Interview with Rosemary Askin, a New Zealand geologist specializing in Antarctic palynology. The interview begins with Askin recounting her childhood in New Zealand where her father worked as a civil engineer. She discusses her undergraduate studies in geology and zoology at Victoria University of Wellington, where she was introduced to palynology which she decided to pursue for graduate study. Askin discusses how she developed her focus area of Antarctic geology and describes her field work there. She talks about her many areas of research such as fossil pollen and the evolution of spores. Askin also recalls the many challenges of being a woman in geology at the time, especially a woman wanting to work in Antarctica. She discusses her academic appointments over the years at Ohio State University, Colorado School of Mines, and University of California Riverside, as well as her time as a Fulbright scholar. Toward the end of the interview, Askin describes her more recent work establishing the US Polar Rock Repository at Ohio State, and she reflects on the changes she has observed in the field of Antarctic science over the years.
