Polar Bear Response to Sea Ice Loss

From an early age, Cristina Galvan has loved nature. She grew up camping every summer in Yosemite with her family. Ms. Galvan received her bachelor’s degree in integrative biology from the University of California at Berkeley, and continued her graduate studies through the Stanford University Teacher Education Program. She recently joined the staff at Impact Academy of Arts and Technology in Hayward, California. She has taught Integrated Science, Biology and Physics. She works hard to provide a rigorous but supportive curriculum for her students, many of whom will be the first in their families to attend college. In her spare time, Ms. Galvan enjoys cooking, yoga, hiking, reading, traveling, and, at times, playing video games. She is excited to be part of PolarTREC and looks forward to sharing her experiences with her class and other teachers.

Merav Ben-David is an associate professor in the Department of Zoology and Physiology and the Ecology program at the University of Wyoming. After receiving both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the Tel-Aviv University in Israel, she received her PhD at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks in 1996. Dr. Merav Ben-David primarily studies carnivores and her research interest revolves around the interaction between animal behavioral ecology, population dynamics, and ecosystem function.

Henry "Hank" Harlow is a zoology and physiology professor at the University of Wyoming. Dr. Harlow’s research emphasis is on the physiological adaptations of animals living in stressful environments and the health of animals experiencing various states of hypothermia. These research interests have included studies on Komodo dragons in Indonesia, hibernating black bears in the near arctic and now, polar bears that may be expressing a form of “walking hibernation” during summer ice free months in the Arctic.

Dr. John Stone is a geologist with a particular interest in cosmic-ray-produced nuclides, or very small particles which come to earth from outer space. Working with students and collaborators, he is involved in several projects in Antarctica aimed at dating and understanding the history and changes in the glacial landscape. Other projects Dr. Stone is involved in strive to understand ancient landscapes in Australian, South America, the U.S. Pacific northwest, and Britain. To learn more about Dr. Stone's scientific interests, please visit his faculty biography page (http://depts.washington.edu/cosmolab/people.html).