Jessica O’Reilly, PhD
Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies, Indiana University, Bloomington, USA
Jessica, wearing blue polar gear, a harness and a red helmet, is surrounded by narrow ice walls in the Imax Crevasse on the Ross Ice Shelf (crevasse has since collapsed). A bright blue light shines above her.
What’s the work that you do?
I am an environmental anthropologist who studies Antarctic and climate change scientists and policymakers, learning about how people translate between scientific knowledge and environmental management and policy. One of my longstanding interests revolves around how people grapple with scientific uncertainty, particularly that of the Antarctic ice sheet’s future. I also work with the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition and the United States delegation to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings.
What keeps you going?
My love for learning and my love for the world. My students, who are renewable sources of energy, optimism, and idealism. My family. And knowing just how many smart, committed people are working daily on solving the problems brought about by climate change.
What’s your message to the world?
“Listening to the science” only gives us part of the picture—and the science doesn’t give us the solutions even once we understand the climate crisis. Addressing anthropogenic climate change requires other kinds of work in addition to the brilliant research that scientists conduct: political work, justice work, policy work, and work in our communities. We all—scientists, social scientists, artists, leaders, children, and so on—have something to contribute.
Organisation: Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies, Indiana University, Bloomington, USA
Nationality:
United States
Disciplines: