Six University of Maine explorers will talk about their experiences participating in the most comprehensive scientific expedition ever conducted on Mount Everest.
A free, public panel discussion, “The University of Maine’s Role in the National Geographic and Rolex’s Perpetual Planet Extreme Expedition to Mount Everest,” will be held 1:45–2:45 p.m. Friday, Nov. 15, in the McIntire Room at Buchanan Alumni House. Registration for the free event is required.
Major expedition goals included understanding change in climate, water availability, and the role of human impacts on one of the planet’s most severe environments.
UMaine President Joan Ferrini-Mundy will introduce Paul Andrew Mayewski, director of the Climate Change Institute and professor in the School of Earth and Climate Sciences.
Mayewski was the Everest Expedition leader and lead scientist for the international project involving 55 science partners, National Geographic staff, journalists, Sherpas and porters.
Everest is the most iconic mountain in the world and, for decades, adventurers have been lured to the culture, geography and challenges posed by the mountain and the region, says Mayewski. He will present a 15-minute overview of the two-month expedition prior to the panel discussion.
In addition to Mayewski, panelists and expedition participants will include: Aaron Putnam, assistant professor in the CCI and the School of Earth and Climate Sciences; Mariusz Potocki, Heather Clifford and Peter Strand, Ph.D. candidates in the CCI and School of Earth and Climate Sciences; and Laura Mattas, M.S. student in the CCI and School of Earth and Climate Sciences.
A video, photographs, a summit suit, a drill used to secure the highest ice core in the world, and other items from the expedition will be displayed.
For additional information, read the National Geographic and UMaine Today stories.