College of Arts and Sciences

Earlier today we were informed of the loss of one of our greatest friends from the McMurdo community,  Bija Sass.   In her honor I'm reposting a blog from February of 2018.   As Juliane Gross describes below, Bija is a Badass, a warrior woman with a heart of gold...

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Just in case you're fortunate enough to be in northeast Ohio next weekend,   I'd like to cordially invite you to join me as I make a presentation about NASA's Planetary Defense Initiative (ANSMET's supporting organization). The event takes place next Friday  (20 January 2023) at 7:30 pm, when I'll...

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Subtitle:  Where there's some "fun" in "funding"...... Me, dreaming of meteorite riches next to a rock dune at Mt. Buckley. (from 2010, taken by Karen Hilton). With no fieldwork taking place this season,   it seems like a good time for some posts that answer questions that many (but not all...

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Hi Everyone! I'm posting today to wish everyone all the love and joy the season can bring on the occasion of Christmas-Eve.  I'm sure this post is a surprise for you in any case-  what kind of awe-inspiring event must have happened to get Ralph blogging again? There have been a...

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A big thank you goes out to all the families of the ANSMET members - we are extremely grateful that you supported us in participating in this crazy amazing expedition. Next, this journey would not be possible and safe without the help from many people on and off the...

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Alex, Brian, Johnny and I all arrived in Christchurch early this morning and parted ways around 2:30 am. It was a long afternoon transporting to and waiting at the airport, as all the passengers were anxious to see if the flight would actually take off. When we walked across...

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The C-17 was being fixed all week and is back in action. We just got word that the plane took off from Christchurch and is heading our way. USAP is prioritizing passengers and trying to get as many people off continent, as fast as possible, so they pushed up...

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Well, we’re still here. The flight yesterday got cancelled and a C-130 did take off this afternoon, but Alex, Brian, and I weren’t on the manifest. The C-17 is expected to be back Friday, so as long as it makes it down here we should be on that flight. To...

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While we’ve been delayed here in McMurdo due to the C-17 breakdown, Alex and I had the opportunity to try the Castle Rock climb again after having to abort the journey a couple days ago. This time - - success!! The rec office was closed when we started out...

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