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Women In Polar Science

Marie Heist

Antarctica New Zealand

Marie, in purple jacket, grey trousers and hiking boots, stands on the Greenlandic Ice Sheet near Kangerlussuaq.

Marie, in purple jacket, grey trousers and hiking boots, stands on the Greenlandic Ice Sheet near Kangerlussuaq.

What’s the work that you do?

I am currently working as an Assistant Project Manager for the Scott Base Redevelopment project with Antarctica New Zealand. This is a complex construction project that is aiming to build a new Antarctic research station for New Zealand. I have been interested in the polar regions since I was a young child and starting in 2010 I have worked with the US Arctic and Antarctic Programs in a wide variety of roles from General Assistant shoveling snow to Heavy Equipment Operator running tractors on traverse, from Science Technician repairing instruments to Station Manager overseeing station operations.

What keeps you going?

Antarctica in particular feels like one of the last frontiers. It is hostile, remote, and beautiful. I love the unique challenges we face operating in the polar regions. Everything is just a little more complicated and a little more difficult and you are constantly having to come up with creative solutions.

What’s your message to the world?

Keep exploring and stay interested in what you are doing!

Organisation: Antarctica New Zealand

Nationality: New Zealand New Zealand

Disciplines:

Project Management and Program Support

Connect:    

LinkedIn
Website

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.