Institutional Representatives
UK Institutional Representatives
British Antarctic Survey - Cecilia Liszka
Heriot-Watt University - Dominique Anderson
Imperial College London - Anona Griffiths
National Museums Scotland - Fiona Ware
National Oceanography Centre - Tiago Segabinazzi Dotto
Queens University Belfast - Leanne Murray
University of East Anglia - Rob Hall
University of Essex - Hugo Woodward-Rowe
University of Leeds - Will Homoky
University of Oxford - Katie Driver
University of Glasgow/ SUERC - Laura Hepburn
Representatives for International Partners
NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research - Matthew Humphreys
United Arab Emirates University - Leila Basti
Institutional Representatives Advert - call still open
The Challenger Society is looking for institutional representatives to raise awareness of the Society within their institutions and to ensure the staff and students at the respective institutions are benefitting fully from the Society. This is great way to increase your profile and network within your institution and within the Challenger community. We are aiming to have 1-2 representatives from each institution and this spans academic, governmental, industrial or other types of institution. This opportunity is open to early career ocean professionals who are encouraged to register their interest along with those more established in their career. There is no fixed term for a representative and so it can be handed over to a new representative at any time. The main tasks of an institutional representative would be to:
- To advertise the Society, its activities and membership options to current and new staff and students
- To advertise upcoming Challenger events (biennial conference and special interest group meetings)
- To promote interaction, information exchange and feedback between their institution and the Society
If you are interested in becoming an institutional representative please register your interest here. This form will remain open on a rolling basis but we will collate the further responses after the 5th January 2024. We will be in touch with you after that date. If you have any questions please email chelsey.baker@noc.ac.uk.
Latest News
Workshop on the contribution of UK Arctic Ocean science to the International Polar Year 32/33
12:00 11th June – 16:00 12th June 2025: NOC Southampton (In-person with online option): Registration deadline 16th May
REGISTER HERE
Pre-meeting questionnaire (open to all)
The purpose of this workshop is for the UK Ocean Science community to discuss and then draft a prospectus document outlining the priority Arctic research questions the community would like to address during the run up to, throughout and beyond the International Polar Year 32/33. Additionally, to identify what unique strengths and technologies the UK has to help fill these knowledge gaps.
The second day of the workshop will be dedicated to writing groups, one for each of the priority research questions identified - from both the pre-meeting questionnaire (HERE) and day one discussion. By the end of the meeting, each group will have produced draft text and sourced supporting figures for the prospectus.
Post meeting, the draft will be opened for comments and suggestions from everyone, regardless of whether they were able to attend the workshop or not. It will then be shared with UK funders (UKRI, FCDO, DSIT, ARIA) and potential international programmes with whom we would like to collaborate (e.g. Arctic 2050, Norway). It will form a basis from which wider integration with terrestrial, atmospheric and cryosphere communities can be built, e.g. at the UK Arctic Science Meeting in September in Northumbria.
To ensure balanced community and ECR representation, and to ensure that the size of the writing groups is efficient and effective, if the number of registrations from individual institutes becomes overwhelming, we may contact individuals or teams and ask that each institute selects a smaller number of individuals to attend in-person. Please wait for confirmation of in-person attendance before finalising travel arrangements.
The workshop will be open to hybrid attendance and contributions on both days.
Challenger Society Council Position Vacancy
The Challenger Society for Marine Science (CSMS) are pleased to announce an exciting opportunity to support the next generation of ocean scientists and innovators. CSMS are looking for a new Council member to fill the Student Travel Awards and Stepping Stones Portfolio. The successful applicant will administer the travel and research grants available for Early Career Researchers.
The role involves:
- Receiving applications for the two schemes and responding to applicant inquiries
- Soliciting and compiling input from the rest of the Council for assessing the applications
- Communicating with successful and unsuccessful applicants for the two schemes
- Working with the Honorary Treasurer on allocating funds to successful applicants
- Following up with award winners on their reporting requirements
- Attending Council meetings four times a year (in person or online) and contributing to discussions and decision making for CSMS
The usual term for Council members is three years.
For more information about the CSMS Council, please follow this link: https://www.challenger-society.org.uk/The_Council
For more information about our Early Career Researcher grants and awards, please follow this link:
https://www.challenger-society.org.uk/Stepping_Stones
and
https://www.challenger-society.org.uk/Travel_awards
If you are interested in applying or have any questions regarding the role, please contact kathen@bas.ac.uk
NOC Association (NOCA) AGM 2025
The 14th AGM of the NOC Association will be held on Thursday 15th and Friday 16th May 2025. This free, on-line event will take place on Zoom, across two consecutive mornings, each starting at 10:00 and ending at 12:30. The agenda will focus on national capability (NC) science, ships, and autonomous vehicles, and how the community can engage. There will be an update on AtlantiS and on the new marine science scoping group. All are warmly welcome to join.
To participate, please complete your registration here.
For enquiries: Jackie Pearson, Secretary to NOCA: jfpea@noc.ac.uk