On April 2, Institute for Arctic Studies innovation fellow Matthew Druckenmiller was elected to serve as president of the International Arctic Science Committee, a science organization made up of 24 countries that supports Arctic research and collaboration between Arctic scientists. Druckenmiller, who has served as the committee’s vice president for the last four years, will lead the organization for the next four years.
The Dartmouth sat down with Druckenmiller to discuss his work as an Arctic innovation fellow, his appointment to IASC and the future of the Arctic.
Congratulations on being elected to lead the International Arctic Science Committee! How did it feel to be elected?
MD: I’ve been involved in working with IASC for many years and served four years as a vice president, so I’m well aware of the work and the major efforts that are on the horizon. It was an honor to be elected by the member country representatives, but it’s also a big reminder of the work ahead.
Tell me more about your education and career. What sparked your interest in Arctic studies?
MD: I got my bachelor’s and master’s in environmental engineering at Pennsylvania State University. I took some courses in glaciology and had a real strong interest in moving to Alaska, so I moved there in 2004 — I was 25 years old. I worked for a couple of years as a technician in the glaciology department at the University of Alaska and then eventually got my Ph.D. studying the physics of ice loss in Arctic coastal regions.
I developed an interest in Arctic research when I began to see the connections between changes in the Arctic’s physical environment and societal issues, whether it be the health of Indigenous communities, habitats for animals or even Arctic shipping. I see the Arctic as a diverse and interdisciplinary landscape of knowledge systems.
What does it mean to be an Arctic innovation fellow at Dartmouth? What do you hope to achieve as a fellow?
MD: As an Arctic innovation fellow, I’ll be working very closely with Institute of Arctic Studies director Melody Burkins. Along with other colleagues, we are developing initiatives and programs that serve the U.S. and international research community. One of the things I’ll be helping with is facilitating engagement between Dartmouth and the international community as we look toward the next International Polar Year — when the global community ramps up research and investment toward research in the polar regions that any one country can’t do alone. The fifth one will be in 2032, which may seem like a very long way away, but in terms of coordinating large-scale international programs, it takes a considerable amount of time.
I joined Dartmouth with a very strong interest in developing research with Arctic peoples, and a lot of my past research has been in collaboration with these communities. That is an area in which Dartmouth has shown strong leadership, and we are looking to initiate some new efforts to develop relationships with Arctic communities while shaping the future of our research.
How do you see Dartmouth’s role in supporting Arctic research and scientific collaboration?
MD: Dartmouth can convene experts and facilitate critical discussions that need to happen. The Arctic is a place where there are some very significant geopolitical challenges impacting international collaborations. Under the Trump administration, some of the venues that we’ve had in the U.S. to talk about climate research, especially in the Arctic, have diminished. Dartmouth can also shape potential flagship opportunities for engaging U.S. researchers in international efforts, especially leading up to the International Polar Year.
How have recent geopolitical tensions in the Arctic impacted international collaboration among scientists?
MD: The ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine has created immense barriers in working with Russian scientists on papers and sharing data. Since Arctic territory and waters within Russia are closed off, from a scientific perspective, we’re missing a lot of key opportunities and infrastructure to understand how the Arctic environment is changing there.
More recently, there have been the current administration’s aggressions towards Greenland and our NATO partners. I don’t think we have a full grasp yet as to how that has impacted research partnerships. In many cases, our partnership with our European allies and partners will continue because they are strong, but these relationships are certainly coming under stress.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.