Hello — tell us a bit about who are you and what do you do.
I'm a mechanical engineer at the US Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL). I specialize in over-snow mobility of lightweight robots and heavy cargo sleds to support science and re-supply operations in Antarctica and Greenland.
What are you working on now?
I recently deployed to South Pole to use Polar rover Yeti to conduct autonomous ground-penetrating radar surveys. We were trying to locate subsurface hazards to vehicle and personnel travel over the original 1950s era station, now buried under drifted snow. I help to design Yeti in collaboration with ISTVS member Professor Laura Ray of Dartmouth College and her many capable students. This was the first operational deployment of an autonomous rover at South Pole and coincided with the 100th anniversary of the arrival of Amundsen and Scott — quite a unique opportunity.
Do you have a first childhood memory of “engineering” something?
I had no idea what engineers did until going to university. But I sure liked machines, especially taking them apart. Some even worked when I put them together again.
Did you have a specific “aha” moment when you knew that you wanted to focus on engineering?
I thought I'd be a doctor. But I took an aptitude test in junior high and realized that I was far more interested in how machines work than in how people do. Engineering was apparently how you learned.
Describe your path to becoming a engineer. Have you had any mentors along the way?
I was lucky to have many good math teachers at my high school and great profs in physics and math at university. My grad advisors were terrific mentors. I grew up in Canada, so all these folks worked at public institutions and were highly motivated professionals.
What does a typical day look like for you?
Well, office work is typically at a computer. But I’m old enough that I still need a pencil and notepad to think. Field work is anything but typical, but much more fun. It ranges from crevasse-safety training with mountaineers to driving a 30-ton tractor towing fuel and cargo sleds to South Pole. I go to the field to understand how my sleds and rovers perform. It’s hard to beat first-hand knowledge.
Do you have a memorable moment or fun story you want to share about your work?
ISTVS member Russ Alger and I worked in a crevasse zone in Antarctica in 2003. Our job was determine whether heavy tractors could safely cross buried crevasses and if so under what conditions. Naturally, this involve lowering me on a rope into said crevasses to study their internal structure and the snow bridges that form over them. Russ took my picture — I was smiling from ear to ear dangling from a rope over a 50-m deep crevasse. Now that was fun.
Do you feel a responsibility to contribute to something bigger than yourself? What do you hope to contribute through your work?
I mentor students myself now, and started a high school robotics team with an engineer friend. It was really hard work but very rewarding too. We tried to show that you can bring your ideas to reality and have great fun doing it.
If you could give one piece of advice to another engineer starting out, what would you say?
Focus on technical excellence. There are lots of pressures to work faster or manage rather than execute work. It’s way more fun to execute.
Are there things that you want to tackle 5 to 10 years down the road?
Sailing the world, cycling with my granddaughters, that sort of thing.
What are your current best sources of news and information for staying up on your field?
ISTVS is key if you're involved with over-snow vehicle design.
If you weren't doing what you’re doing now, what might you have gone into?
Ocean engineering, nuclear engineering, aerospace engineering. Careers take odd turns and I ended up at polar engineering. It’s been great.
What’s your favorite food? ッ
Soft-serve ice cream at McMurdo Station, Antarctica.