A new exhibit in Fondren Library features photos from a Rice University science writer’s research expeditions to Antarctica and her interviews with students about the captivating experiences.
The exhibit showcases Linda Welzenbach-Fries of Rice’s Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, who has taken several working trips to Antarctica. While serving as the meteorite collections manager at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History she joined search expeditions in 2002 and 2006, and in 2019 she served as the Thwaites Glacier Offshore Research project’s public outreach coordinator and sediment processor on a seafloor-sampling cruise.
Ipek Martinez, former associate dean and director of Rice’s Gateway Program within the School of Sciences, now volunteers at the Woodson Research Center and runs a small nonprofit program — Longitude.site. Through the site, she engages college students in conversations with scientists about fascinating projects and features them on the “Longitude Sound Bytes” podcast.
She recently connected with Fries and, inspired by her stories, decided to organize a podcast series with Rice students that would tie to an exhibit of Fries’ photos.
“The whole idea is to give an experience to the students in leading conversations with scientists, and then turn around and present highlights through the podcast,” Martinez said. “I like to have different people from different backgrounds do these interviews, so you don't have to be a specialist, you just have to have curiosity.”
A group of Rice students led informational interviews on the podcast series with Ralph Harvey, the leader of the Antarctic Search for Meteorites program, and Cari Corrigan, curator at the National Museum of Natural History. Elizabeth Fessler, a junior art history major, helped Martinez prepare the Fondren exhibit.
As it turns out, all the meteorites collected in Antarctica are first sent to Houston for classification at the Johnson Space Center meteorite lab, then shared with the Smithsonian to make them available to scientists worldwide. Upon learning this, Martinez and a few of the students visited the NASA lab and were able to hold meteorites from Mars and the moon in their hands.
Martinez said this type of student engagement is what makes all of the work behind the scenes worth it.
“That's really the best part,” she said. “When I look back at my time at Rice, those interactions with students and the learning experiences, those are my favorite memories. And I get to keep doing that through the Longitude Site program.”
Fries said it’s a pleasure to be able to share her exploits with gifted, inquisitive students at Rice.
“It was never lost on me that I had an opportunity to be in a place that very few people get to go,” she said. “Every single day out on the ice was surviving, but it was surviving and doing something special. And it’s great to be counted among the people who have been able to participate.
“I’m always very happy to share that experience, especially with the next generation of students. It truly never gets old.”
The exhibit is on the first floor of Fondren Library until the end of April. The two podcasts Fries has participated in with Rice students can be found here.