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Department of Geography

 

 

Dr Jean de Pomereu BA, MPhil, PhD

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Research Fellow, working with Prof Richard Powell

Biography

Qualifications

  • PhD, Historical Geography, University of Exeter, 2015
  • MPhil, Polar Studies, University of Cambridge, 2004
  • Graduate Certificate in Antarctic Studies, University of Canterbury, NZ, 2003
  • BA, Art History, American University of Paris, 1991

Awards

  • European Commission H2020 Marie Curie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Individual Fellowship (MSCA-IF) for research project ICEglobe, "The Globalisation of Ice Sheets: a Scientific and Political History", 2022-2025
  • Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center Archival Program Research Award (BPCRCAP). Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center, Columbus, Ohio, 2019
  • Collaborative Doctoral Award (CDA), UK Arts and Humanities Research Council. University of Exeter and Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) in London, 2009-2005

Research

Jean's research focuses on two separate but interconnected themes. One is the scientific and political history of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. The other is the visual and material culture of Antarctica, including photography, drawing, painting, scientific images and objects. His broader professional experience comprises polar photography, publishing, science reporting, education, and curation.

Working with Salto Ulbeek Publishers, Jean has contributed to the publication and exhibiting of platinum-palladium prints and portfolios made from the original negatives of early Antarctic photographers held in the archives of the SPRI and the Royal Geographical Society.

From 2004 until 2011, Jean was one of the lead contributors to SciencePoles.org, the polar science news and knowledge transfer website of the International Polar Foundation (IPF), writing over 120 articles and interviews focusing on all aspects of polar research. During this time, he also contributed to the education and outreach initiatives of the 4th International Polar Year and in 2008-09 became the first foreign reporter to accompany a Chinese Antarctic Research Expedition, sailing aboard the MV Xue Long.

Jean's photographic work has been exhibited internationally and is in collections on both sides of the Atlantic.

ICEglobe

Jean's current research project is entitled 'The Globalisation of Ice Sheets: a Scientific and Political History' (ICEglobe), and is funded by the European Commission's Marie Curie Sklodowska-Curie Actions.

ICEglobe charts and questions the historical processes of knowledge production and utilization that have transformed the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets from geographical unknowns into objects of global significance within the context of climate change.

The project seeks to provide a nuanced analysis of how ice sheet knowledge has been produced and utilized in the past by examining the intertwined collaborative, technological and geopolitical processes of scientific and cultural exchange between the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. In doing so, it questions how ice sheet modelization and melt have sparked the re-emergence of debates around catastrophism, and considers how ice sheets challenge the idea of human-nature reciprocity and coexistence.

Publications

[Publications will appear automatically from the University's publications database...]

External activities

External committees and affiliations:

  • Member of the Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research (SCAR) Humanities & Social Sciences Expert Group (HASSEG), since 2015
  • Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), since 2015
  • Member of the Royal Geographical Society's Historical Geography Research Group (HGRG), since 2015
  • History and Social Sciences Editor for Quantarctica: geographical datasets managed by the Norwegian Polar Institute and the Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research (2016-2018)
  • International Education and Outreach Committee, International Polar Year 2007-2008.
  • Norwegian Committee for Education and Outreach, International Polar Year 2007-2008.

About

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About the University

Research at Cambridge