National Geographic Polar Explorations

Dr. Michael E. Wysession is the Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis. Professor Wysession earned his Sc.B. in Geophysics from Brown University and his Ph.D. from Northwestern University. An established leader in seismology and geophysical education, Professor Wysession is noted for his development of a new way to create three-dimensional images of Earth's interior from seismic waves. These images have provided scientists with insights into the makeup of Earth and its evolution throughout history. Professor Wysession is the coauthor of An Introduction to Seismology, Earthquakes, and Earth Structure; the lead author of Physical Science: Concepts in Action; and the primary writer for the texts Earth Science, Earth's Interior, Earth's Changing Surface, and Earth's Waters. Professor Wysession received a Science and Engineering Fellowship from the David and Lucille Packard Foundation, a National Science Foundation Presidential Faculty Fellowship, and fellowships from the Kemper and Lily Foundations. He has received the Innovation Award of the St. Louis Science Academy and the Distinguished Faculty Award of Washington University. In 2005, Professor Wysession had a Distinguished Lectureship with the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology and the Seismological Society of America. In 2014, Wysession received the inaugural Ambassador Award of the American Geophysical Union.

Dr. Edward M. Murphy is Associate Professor, General Faculty at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. He earned his bachelor's degree in Astronomy from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and his Ph.D. in Astronomy from the University of Virginia in 1996. Professor Murphy was a postdoctoral fellow and an associate research scientist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, where he worked on NASA's Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE). In 2000 he joined the faculty at the University of Virginia, where he continues to use FUSE, along with radio telescopes, in his research on the interstellar medium. Professor Murphy teaches courses on introductory astronomy and intelligent life in the universe to undergraduates, as well as seminars on how to teach astronomy to graduate students. He also offers evening classes for the local community at the historical Leander McCormick Observatory. He was named a Teaching and Technology Fellow in 2002-2003 and an Ernest Boots Mead Honored Faculty Fellow in 2003-2004. Dr. Murphy gives astronomy talks, appears regularly on local radio, and leads professional development workshops for teachers. He has also worked with the Science Museum of Virginia to develop planetarium shows and exhibits.

National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence and Marine Conservationist National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Dr. Sylvia A. Earle is an oceanographer, explorer, author, and lecturer. She earned her bachelor's from Florida State University and holds an M.S. and a Ph.D. from Duke University, as well as 26 honorary degrees. Formerly chief scientist of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Dr. Earle is the founder of Deep Ocean Exploration and Research, founder of Mission Blue and SEAlliance, and chair of the advisory councils of the Harte Research Institute and Ocean in Google Earth. She has authored more than 210 scientific, technical, and popular publications; lectured in more than 90 countries; and appeared in hundreds of radio and television productions. Dr. Earle has also led more than 100 expeditions and logged more than 7,000 hours under water, including leading the first team of women aquanauts during the Tektite project in 1970, participating in 10 saturation dives, and setting a record for solo diving in 1,000-meter depth. Her research concerns marine ecosystems, with special reference to exploration, conservation, and the development and use of new technologies for access and effective operations in the deep sea and other remote environments. Dr. Earle's focus is on developing a global network of areas on the land and in the ocean to safeguard the living systems that provide the underpinnings of global processes.

Photographer Ralph Lee Hopkins is the founder and director of the onboard photography program for the National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions fleet. For more than 20 years, he has photographed expeditions from the Arctic to the Antarctic and points in between.Mr. Hopkins completed his master's degree in Geology at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, where he studied rocks along the rim of the Grand Canyon. He was a photographer on the 1990 Colorado River Expedition with the U.S. Geological Survey, and he continues to lead photo expeditions down the Colorado River.Mr. Hopkins's photography appears regularly in National Geographic publications. A member of the International League of Conservation Photographers, his current work focuses on documenting conservation and environmental issues in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, Baja California, and the Sea of Cortes in Mexico.Mr. Hopkins is author and photographer of the popular guidebooks Hiking Colorado's Geology and Hiking the Southwest's Geology. His most recent book is Nature Photography: Documenting the Wild World.

A veteran journalist, author, and editor, Fen Montaigne worked as a Moscow correspondent during the collapse of the Soviet Union, reported for National Geographic magazine from six continents, earned a Guggenheim Fellowship, and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist. Mr. Montaigne has authored or coauthored five books and helped launch and edit the award-winning online magazine Yale Environment 360. Mr. Montaigne graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in International Relations. He wrote for The Philadelphia Inquirer from 1982 to 1996. Becoming a freelance journalist in 1996, he published articles in National Geographic magazine, The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, Outside, Smithsonian, Forbes, and Audubon. In 2005 and 2006, Mr. Montaigne spent five months in the Antarctic Peninsula on the field team of ecologist Bill Fraser, who studies the impact of rapid warming on Adelie penguins and other seabirds. That story is told in Fraser's Penguins: A Journey to the Future in Antarctica. Mr. Montaigne now works as senior editor of Yale Environment 360 and as a lecturer for National Geographic Expeditions and Lindblad Expeditions.