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Wendy Ermold is a physicist in the Laboratory's Polar Science Center. She is also a graduate student in applied physics. What caught Senior Oceanographer Mike Steele's attention when he read her cover letter for the physicist position in 1999 was the enthusiasm she conveyed. "I love physics, and I'm a researcher at the core," she wrote. Wendy has excelled as a member of the center's science team and her dedication for physics and research has propelled her into the graduate program in physics. She has been able to work toward her graduate degree through the tuition exemption program offered to University of Washington staff.
Wendy has been a team member on several field experiments-work that has been invaluable to her studies and thesis research. She was one of three graduate students with no sea-going experience (greenies) who were members of the science team aboard the USCGC Polar Star during the cruise to the Chukchi Borderland in summer 2002. Cruise Chief Scientist Rebecca Woodgate reported that "Wendy quickly and smoothly picked up the multitude of tasks thrown at her-water sampling, filing of protocols, preparing instruments, downloading data--and progressed to the highest responsibility of 'driving the CTD'."
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Covering so many tasks on the cruise was a great opportunity, especially in that Wendy gained experience with the Lowered Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler, which measures upper ocean currents. This expertise led to an invitation to work with Lead Scientist Robin Muench at the ONR-sponsored Beaufort Sea ice camp. There, in spring 2003, she and colleagues lived and worked for two weeks at a camp on the frozen ocean 190 miles northeast of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.
"My expeditions in the Arctic have been fantastic! It was really a lot of fun to be part of a group of scientists working toward the goal of figuring out what's actually going on up in the Arctic." Her enthusiasm for research has naturally led her to pursue data collection operations in the field. Wendy has completed the course work required for a Master's degree in applied physics-focused toward physical oceanography-while working full time and traveling into the field several weeks at a stretch. Her combined determination to conduct research through direct observation and to expand her scientific expertise in the laboratory and classroom is the hallmark of a fine, young scientist and a great asset to the Laboratory.
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