Penguins, Whales, and Icebergs: Irish Women Share an Antarctic Experience

Antarctica—the last great wilderness on Earth, where towering icebergs drift silently in icy waters and the Southern Ocean teems with life. Here, vast white landscapes meet a harsh, untamed beauty, shaped by extreme weather and endless, sweeping horizons. Amidst this pristine isolation lies a powerful narrative: the story of our planet’s changing climate.

Niamh Shaw, science communicator with PhD in science and 2 degrees in Engineering and international fellow of The Explorers Club really cares about our planet. She has quite literally devoted her life to exploring Earth from the ground and above, from space. Experiencing life in the extremes she reports on science assignments from the remotest parts of the world to lead the change for a healthier and more sustainable planet. She contributes to The Irish Times, BBC Sky at Night magazine, RTE television and radio, BBC and SkyNews. She is excited to join Jessamyn for Science week to share their stories of a life-changing leadership voyage on climate action at the Antarctic.

Jessamyn Fairfield is a lecturer in the School of Natural Sciences at the University of Galway who specialises in science/art engagement projects, from both the performing arts side and the science communication side. Her research focuses on comedy, dance, and other performing arts in partnership with science, to explore technically and emotionally challenging topics. Her laboratory background is in nanomaterials for novel electronics, and she loves to look at interdisciplinary questions that require many different ways of knowing.

Right now, Jessamyn is the director of We Built This City on Rock and Coal, which uses improvised theatre to make space for discussions about the climate crisis in coastal and island communities in rural Ireland. She has created two science/dance shows with choreographer Deidre Cavazzi, NanoDance and CONDUIT, after they met at the Arctic Circle art/science residency programme. She is also an award-winning science communicator, and the founding director of Bright Club Ireland, a platform for communicating academic research with stand-up comedy. Listen to Jessamyn talk about using comedy for the greater good in her TEDx talk ‘Laugh, Think, Cry, Laugh Again.’

Host or Publisher Galway Science & Technology Festival 2023