Ellen retains her Daft Punk-like air of mystery in her full ANSMET getup.

All of our tent days last week gave us a lot of time to get to know each other. Here I chat with Ellen about her crafty hobbies, her challenging last name, and her deep fear of following in Socks the Pony’s footsteps.

Name: Ellen Crapster-Pregont

Hometown: Merrill, WI

Current town: Manhattan, NY

Background: I did my undergrad at Colby College with a double major in geology and chemistry. My advisor, Valerie Reynolds, is a petrologist who also does some work in planetary science. Although my undergrad research was on hydrothermal alteration of mid-ocean ridge basalts [MORB], my advisor’s interest in planetary science rubbed off on me and I remained open to planetary science options when looking for grad programs. I chose my grad program based on how interesting the projects were to me. The most interesting by far was with Denton Ebel at Columbia University/the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) studying meteorites to better understand early solar system conditions and evolution, which is where I currently am. That’s how I ended up in Manhattan, my least favorite thing about the program! I’m a small-town kind of person, but I figured I couldn’t say I don’t like cities until I tried living in one. I’m technically a Columbia student but my research takes place at AMNH, which allows me to experience a great mix of research and public outreach. I’ve always liked both science and outreach–I really enjoy being able to communicate science and help others find a connection with it. The museum is a great place to do that. Thinking to the future, I’m very interested in teaching but I also love research. It’s hard to do
both, so I’m envisioning myself at a liberal arts college where I’ll be doing a lot of teaching, but can also do some research with students too. If I’m teaching, it’s really important to me to do a good job, which I know takes a lot of effort. I think I could also be happy doing pure research as well, where I can continue to work on instrumentation and advance the state of knowledge. If you’re looking for someone who’s great at geochemistry and instrument operations, please be in touch!

Why ANSMET?: I first heard about ANSMET from the folks at the museum. Joe Boesenberg had volunteered with ANSMET before and was just about to go down for half a season. He told me all about his experience afterwards, and I thought it sounded like a great opportunity to do fieldwork. Coming from Wisconsin and having grown up doing lots of outdoor stuff in the winter, I knew that the cold wouldn’t bother me. And in meteorite research, it’s typically hard to do fieldwork! Although I primarily used samples from the AMNH collection for my dissertation research, I love seeing the new catalog of ANSMET samples at LPSC each year and I always find myself making plans to do some research with them in the future. Now that I’ve participated in a field season, I feel great knowing exactly how samples have been recovered and handled from first-hand experience–this is really important information for people doing analyses on these materials. On a more personal side, one of my bucket list items is to visit all seven continents, and Antarctica is the hardest one to visit. I think visiting as tourist is very different from going as a scientist on a research expedition. I think it adds a lot of depth to my experience here. Family: I’m the middle of three girls, in a relatively small family–it’s pretty much just the five of us and my grandfather (makes family holidays easy). My boyfriend Nick is my motivator and adventure buddy. We went to Morocco last year so I could attend the annual Meteoritical Society meeting, and now he’s really gung-ho about international travel. We don’t have any pets because pets aren’t allowed in our building, but eventually I would like to get a kitten. However, Nick has been threatening to get a corgie while I’m in Antarctica. Nick: NO CORGIES. Other than Sir Winston [a stuffed version].
Tell us about your last name and its attendant issues: My parents decided to combine their last names when they got married, hence I have a hyphenated last name. The Crapsters are descendants of passengers who came over on the Mayflower, while Pregont is a very common French Canadian surname. There are only four people in the world with this last name, which I like. However, it took me forever to learn how to spell it and it still gives me issues on things like standardized exams, tickets, and all kinds of forms. I always joked growing up that I’d have to marry a guy with a hyphenated name and then we could hyphenate them together into a mega-hyphenated name. But now I’m thinking I might like to make up a name. . .It’s negotiable.

Tell us about your hair: I’m not super emotionally attached to my hair, so I’m open to changes. Usually I have long hair worn in a braid, but in the past I’ve had green streaks and various lengths. I had it cut it short (chin length) for a while, and I got a bob specifically for Antarctica that’s worked out well–thanks to my mom’s hairdresser in Merrill, WI for the great cut! My mentality is that hair grows back so it’s no big deal to cut it. I’m planning on going to the hair dresser in McMurdo when we get back to get the $10 “dino cut” before I leave–we’ll see what happens! [Nina’s note: The McMurdo hairdresser has a sign that says Haircuts $10 and then a picture of a T-Rex with a mohawk. I hope Ellen goes for that one.]

If you could choose a super power that was either flying or being invisible?: I’d choose flying, it seems like a good mode of transport in NYC and I could avoid traffic. I can be invisible already [Nina’s note: Sad face]. I don’t like being center of attention.

Hobbies: I sew and bake. I make elaborate cakes for everyone’s birthdays. I’ve made cakes shaped like pirate ships, fieldwork locations, even poke-balls. I also sew costumes for cons [conventions for nerds]. I started by sewing dresses for formals in high school. Since I couldn’t find anything that I liked in a store, I decided to make them instead. Now I’ve transitioned to making screen-accurate costumes for Halloween and cons. That turns out to be a lot more complicated than you might think! The difference between a 1″ and 3″ hem is a debated topic among con costume makers. I think it’s both challenging and fun, and seeing the final product is really satifying [Nina’s note: I’ve seen some of Ellen’s creations and I can tell you that they are seriously awesome]. I also do a lot of running and reading to keep me sane from the stresses of being a PhD candidate.

Greatest fear: Falling into a bottomless crevasse like Socks the Pony [one of Scott’s ill-fated party members]. [Nina’s note: Ellen managed to find the one scary crevasse picture in all of the many books and magazines in the science tent.]

Current project: I’m working on being more sarcastic and understanding sarcasm in general. Thank you, Nick. It’s not really a thing in Wisconsin.

Little known fact: I’m a quiet person but I’m generally paying attention to the world around me, so it can be very surprising sometimes when I suddenly speak up. People sometimes misinterpret my quietness as ignorance of the situation but I’m definitely listening and processing the situation even if I’m not saying anything.

How much do you love Firefly: A LOT.

Firefly spirit person: Kaylee, because I’m an instrument junkie and I’m gentle.

Ellen’s message to the world: Do or do not. There is no try.

–Posted by Nina on a calm, cloudy day that makes sastrugi invisible to the human eye, south Miller Range, 17 January 2016