AN OHIO STATE LEGACY: WOMEN RESEARCHERS IN ANTARCTICA

McMurdo Station, which began life as a US military base, administered by the navy, prohibited women until 1969. The research bases in Antarctica have always been launching pads for scientific expeditions in and around Antarctica. Colin Bull, who was a professor at The Ohio State University and director of OSU's Institute of Polar Studies, worked diligently to change this archaic rule. The Navy finally allowed an expedition with women, but they stipulated that it must be an all-woman group. They did not want a group with a mix of the sexes. With that, The Ohio State University put together the historic team of women to embark on the first ever expedition of women to Antarctica. The team was lead by Dr. Lois Jones, a geochemist. She brought Kay Lindsay, an entomologist, and two students, Eileen McSaveney a geology student, and Terry Tickhill Terrell, a chemistry student at the time. The expedition was a success. The women spent time in the Dry Valleys and even went to the South Pole.

They changed the landscape of Antarctic science for women forever. Today, about one-third of Antarctic researchers are women. In 2008, I had the privilege of traveling to McMurdo Station and exploring Antarctica as part of the ANDRILL Project. I was a graduate student at The Ohio State University. In this talk, I will discuss the historic 1969 expedition, as well as my own experiences in Antarctica.