Hello all, I’m Sam Cornish and I’m OUPF’s new Coordinator. This post is to quickly introduce myself and let you know what you can expect from OUPF (and me) over the next year.
I’m a DPhil candidate working with Helen Johnson in Earth Sciences, and have just submitted my thesis. I study the Arctic Ocean, and have been investigating interactions between wind patterns, sea ice dynamics and thermodynamics, and freshwater in the ocean. My interest in polar research goes beyond my thesis topics, however, and I’m excited to learn more about what everyone in the Polar Forum is working on.
What is the Polar Forum for?
Within Oxford, OUPF aims to provide a hub for polar researchers, fostering a vibrant academic community and encouraging connected thinking on big polar questions. Looking beyond Oxford, we seek to increase the visibility and impact of research done by members of OUPF, and to develop strategic partnerships with other institutions in polar research.
What will OUPF be doing?
We will be sending fortnightly newsletters, including third party items such as conference calls, summer school opportunities etc. as well as an update on recent publications and anything else noteworthy from OUPF members.
We will also be updating the website in order that it can highlight the current activities and recent achievements of OUPF members. To enable us to do that, if you’re an OUPF member, we’d like you to please fill in this Google Form with details of recent publications (since Jan 2020) and to outline your main lines of research: https://forms.gle/FDF2QkaMAxfFtUGd6
In addition, we’d like to promote your work and activities on social media — please do give us a follow on Twitter @OxPolar and we’ll be sure to reciprocate!
Following on from the Spring 2021 Seminar Series, we are planning a series of talks at the end of this term from graduate students and early-career postdocs. We’ll be in touch about that soon.
Looking further ahead, we have other ideas in mind and will be updating you as they develop. But the Polar Forum exists to support and connect Oxford’s polar researchers — i.e., you — so please do get in touch if you have any ideas of your own for OUPF or if you think we can offer assistance in some way.
I’m delighted to be your point of contact for the Polar Forum, and look forward to meeting many more of you in due course! Finally, I’d like to acknowledge the van Houten Fund for supporting OUPF this year.
Best wishes,
Sam