Profile
Connie Harpur
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About Me:
I study icy places using data from space 🛰👩💻 and from fieldwork 🌍🚣♀️. I love cooking, growing flowers and being outdoors 🏔
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Hi, I’m Connie! I’m from Suffolk but I live in Leeds. I spend lots of time walking in the hills and I love growing flowers and vegetables on my allotment. If it’s really raining outside, I enjoy cooking with friends. At the moment, my favourite thing to bake is bread. I really like learning new things and love seeing other people enjoy science too.
My dog, Rory
Walking in the Alps
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My pronouns are:
she/her
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My Work:
I study icy places using data from satellites 🧊🛰 and fieldwork 🌍🚣♀️
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I am a PhD researcher at the University of Leeds. I’m interested in how the Earth works, and especially how climate change impacts glaciers and ice sheets. I focus on the Greenland Ice Sheet, which is a huge area of ice near the North Pole. It’s important because it holds a lot of water- enough to fill more than one trillion swimming pools!
The edge of the ice sheet is home to hundreds of glaciers, which are large, slow-moving rivers of ice. Warm air causes the glaciers to melt into water, which flows into the sea. Although this is a normal process, climate change is causing the ice to melt much more quickly than usual. This is a problem, because all this water causes the sea level to rise, increasing the risk of flooding for people around the world.
I use data from satellites and fieldwork to try and work out how much ice is melting and why it is happening, so that we can better predict (and prepare for!) sea level rise in the future.
The edge of the Greenland Ice Sheet, taken by a satellite
A glacier in Greenland
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My Typical Day:
Every day is different! A good day will include seeing friends at work, talking about exciting research and learning something new 🙂
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What I'd do with the prize money:
I would use the money to create a ‘virtual fieldtrip’ to Greenland, so that students can visit the icy continent using a VR headset.
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Education:
I went to school near Ipswich in Suffolk, where my GCSEs and A levels included a mix of arts and sciences. I found Geography fascinating and liked the problem-solving part of science, so I went to study Geography BSc at Durham University. That was where I really fell in love with glaciers!
I then did a Masters by Research, which allowed me to work full-time on my own project. I wanted to do more, so I started a PhD.
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Qualifications:
My GCSEs included Art, French, Geography and Philosophy and Ethics. I took A-levels in Geography, Biology and Fine Art before going to university where I studied Geography (BSc) and took a Masters by Research in Antarctic Glaciology. At the moment, I’m working towards my PhD at the University of Leeds.
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Work History:
I waitressed during GCSEs and worked at a shop and as a cook between A-levels and university. I’ve also worked as a summer school activities leader, as a tutor, and as a university teaching assistant.
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Current Job:
I’m a PhD researcher, which means I get to do my own research project for three and a half years (and then hopefully I’ll be Dr Harpur!). I also do some teaching at the university.
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Employer:
NERC Panorama DTP, which is a government-funded organisation that gives PhD students the money they need to do their research.
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
flower-growing glaciologist
What did you want to be after you left school?
Didn't know!
Were you ever in trouble at school?
Never...
If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?
To be a chef 👩🍳
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Jack Johnson 🏖
What's your favourite food?
Pasta
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
(1) learn how to do pottery, (2) be better at maths and (3) visit Antarctica
Tell us a joke.
What do sea monsters eat? Fish and ships.
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