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Ignatius Rigor was hired by APL-UW as a newly graduated high school student in 1981 through the Laboratory's student assistant program. Ignatius's first job included running back and forth between the Laboratory and the campus's mainframe computing center, delivering computer punch cards and picking up output. By the end of his undergraduate program he was providing scientific and technical assistance in the design of experiments, processing data, and formulating models for the optimal interpolation of sea ice velocity. After completing a B.S. in cell and molecular biology in 1986, he was hired as a mathematician/data analyst in the Polar Science Center. His responsibilities and contributions to projects, including the Arctic Nuclear Waste Assessment Program, SHEBA, and the International Arctic Buoy Programme (IABP), continued to grow over the years. By 1998 he was elected by the international members of the IABP to be the Programme's Coordinator—a post he continues to fill.
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In 1998 Ignatius realized that returning to school to work toward a Ph.D. would broaden his scientific knowledge so that he could pursue new scientific investigations. He was awarded an APL-UW graduate fellowship and received his M.S. in atmospheric sciences in summer 2001; he is on track to complete his Ph.D. in 2002.
Guided by John Wallace, Professor of Atmospheric Sciences, and his research on the Arctic Oscillation (AO) phenomenon—a decades-long cycle of atmospheric circulation variability in the Northern Hemisphere, where a high index translates to stronger westerly winds at subpolar latitudes and lower sea level pressure over the Arctic—Ignatius has used data gathered from the IABP to question the role of sea ice in a changing arctic climate. Did changes in surface air temperature drive the thinning and reduction in area of arctic sea ice, or did the thinning sea ice and increased area covered by leads allow more heat to flux from the ocean to warm the surface air? "Ignatius has brought fresh insights to the problem of interpreting recent changes in the thickness and extent of arctic sea ice. He's presented observational evidence that changes in wintertime wind patterns over the Arctic are responsible for much of the thinning and summer melting that have been attributed to global warming," notes Wallace.
Twenty years ago the goal of the APL-UW student assistant program was to help confirm women and minority students in their choice of an engineering or scientific career. Ignatius's successes, from student helper to scientist to graduate student, exemplify the value of the Laboratory's support. It is rewarding to note that during summer 2001, Ignatius mentored two young students, perhaps helping to launch their scientific careers.
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