Johanna Grabow, PhD

What’s the work that you do?

I am the Project Officer of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR). In this role, I support SCAR’s mission to initiate, develop and coordinate high quality international scientific research in the Antarctic region. My role includes managing the internal and external communications of SCAR, as well as promoting our various activities within and beyond the science community. You’ll probably come across my name if you’re attending one of our biennial Open Science Conferences. I also serve as the Assistant Editor of the Antarctic Environments Portal – a fantastic resource linking Antarctic science and policy.

What keeps you going?

The community! I was first introduced to the polar community during my PhD. My journey to the Antarctic began on the page – my academic background is in the humanities – and I wrote my dissertation on the representation of Antarctica in contemporary British novels. During this time, I was fascinated by the welcoming, interdisciplinary and helpful polar world. Now I am lucky enough to be an active part of this community, support it, collaborate with our partners and stakeholders and highlight the importance of Antarctica in our Earth system with the wider world.

What’s your message to the world?

Antarctica is the continent for ground-breaking scientific discoveries, but also the continent for big emotions and quiet reflections. It asks us to rethink our relationship with our natural surroundings. How do we act in such an environment – and, more importantly, how do we treat it, how do we destroy it and how do we protect it? It is a place of learning, about ourselves, about the people surrounding us and about the planet we inhabit. Never stop asking and learning from it.