WJean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz was a Swiss-born American biologist and geologist recognized as an innovative and prodigious scholar of Earth's natural history. Agassiz grew up in Switzerland. He received doctor of philosophy and medical degrees at Erlangen and Munich, respectively. After studying with Cuvier and Humboldt in Paris, Agassiz was appointed professor of natural history at the University of Neuchâtel. He emigrated to the United States in 1847 after visiting Harvard University. He went on to become professor of zoology and geology at Harvard, to head its Lawrence Scientific School, and to found its Museum of Comparative Zoology.
WRichard Blane Alley is an American geologist and Evan Pugh Professor of Geosciences at Pennsylvania State University. He has authored more than 240 refereed scientific publications about the relationships between Earth's cryosphere and global climate change, and is recognized by the Institute for Scientific Information as a "highly cited researcher."
WCharles Raymond Bentley was an American glaciologist and geophysicist, born in Rochester, New York. He was a professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Mount Bentley and the Bentley Subglacial Trench in Antarctica are named after him. In 1957, he and a handful of other scientists including Mario Giovinetto set out on an expedition across West Antarctica in tracked vehicles to make the first measurements of the ice sheet.
WDr. Robert Bindschadler is a senior fellow at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and has been an active field researcher in the Antarctic for over 25 years. He is a past president of the International Glaciological Society, chairs the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Initiative, is an editor for the Journal of Glaciology and has led 14 expeditions to Antarctica and has participated in numerous other expeditions around the world including Greenland. He has also testified before Congress and has briefed the U.S. vice president concerning ice-sheet stability and is often quoted or featured in the media. He was born in Pittsburgh and received a B.S. in astronomy and physics in 1971 from the University of Michigan and earned his Ph.D in Geophysics from the University of Washington in 1978 and did post doctoral work in Switzerland prior to working at NASA.
WAlbert Paddock Crary, was a pioneer polar geophysicist and glaciologist. He was the first person to have stepped foot on both the North and South Poles, having made it to the North Pole on May 3, 1952 and then to the South Pole on February 12, 1961, as the leader of a team of eight. The South Pole expedition set out from McMurdo Station on December 10, 1960, using three Snowcats with trailers. Crary was the seventh expedition leader to arrive at the South Pole by surface transportation. He was widely admired for his intellect, wit, skills and as a great administrator for polar research expeditions.
WEdward Randle "Ed" LaChapelle was an American avalanche researcher, glaciologist, mountaineer, skier, author, and professor. He was a pioneer in the field of avalanche research and forecasting in North America.
WJulie Michelle Palais is an award-winning polar glaciologist who has made significant contributions to climate change research studying volcanic fallout in ice cores from both Greenland and Antarctica. For many years, starting in 1990, she played a pivotal role working at the National Science Foundation (NSF) as Program Director of the Antarctic Glaciology Program in the Division of Polar Programs, including many trips to both North and South Polar regions. Both the Palais Glacier and Palais Bluff in Antarctica were named in her honor and she has received many further recognitions for her distinguished career.
WErin Christine Pettit is an American glaciologist focusing on climate change. She is an associate professor of geophysics and glaciology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Alaska. Her work focuses on ice shelf disintegration, sea-level rise and ocean circulation changes.
WAustin S. Post was a photographer, glaciologist, and mountaineer known for his aerial photography of the mountains and glaciers of North America, particularly the North Cascades of Washington and Glacier Bay, Alaska.
WKonrad "Koni" Steffen was a Swiss glaciologist, known for his research into the impact of global warming on the Arctic.
WWendell Tangborn is an American glaciologist specializing in glacier mass balance measurements since 1960, chiefly within the states of Washington and Alaska of the Pacific Northwest. His streamflow forecasting model implements a split-sample calibration approach which greatly improves its accuracy, and eliminates the need for manual measurements such as snow surveys. This model has been utilized by hydroelectric utilities for over thirty years to forecast Columbia River runoff. His PTAA glacier balance model requires only routine weather observations and has been successfully applied to calculate the mass balance of glaciers throughout the world, including the Himalayas.