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Women In Polar Science

Helen Millman, PhD

International Cryosphere Climate Initiative

Helen drills into the ice at the Patriot Hills in Antarctica. A yellow and black snowmobile with an attached cargo sled is in the background.

Helen drills into the ice at the Patriot Hills in Antarctica. A yellow and black snowmobile with an attached cargo sled is in the background.

What’s the work that you do?

I did an ice sheet modelling PhD, where I looked into Antarctica’s contribution to sea level rise during the last warm period in the Earth’s history. Now I’m the Antarctic Director at ICCI, where I try to explain Antarctic science to policymakers.

What keeps you going?

The need to be an insufferable know-it-all. I didn’t know that I was such a know-it-all until I started talking to politicians. Billy Connolly once said that “the desire to be a politician should bar you for life from ever being one,” and I think that he was probably right.

What’s your message to the world?

“Get over yourself!” Antarctica is so vast and inhospitable, it gives you a feeling of how insignificant you are. I think that it’s good to try and hold onto that perspective back in the real world. We can all get too caught up in our own heads.

Organisation: International Cryosphere Climate Initiative

Nationality: UK UK

Disciplines:

Glaciology

Connect:    

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We are grateful to The Ocean Foundation for acting as our fiscal sponsor in the US, the Curtis and Edith Munson Foundation for sponsoring this project, and the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) for supporting us.