Margaret Amsler: Antarctic Biologist

Today's video is an interview with Margaret Amsler, Research Assistant Member of the University of Alabama at Birmingham in Antarctica Team. In fact, she has been doing research in the Antarctic since the 1980s, when she was a student of the late Dr. Mary Alice McWhinnie. Amsler talks about how she became interested in research:

As a young girl I knew I wanted to be a marine biologist. I went to college at DePaul University and my advisor was a marine biologist. Guess where she worked? Yes - Antarctica! Her name was Dr. Mary Alice McWhinnie. She was one of the first females scientists to work in the Antarctic. She and another woman scientist share the distinction of of being the first female researchers to spend a winter in Antarctica at the largest U.S base called McMurdo Station. Dr. Mary Alice also worked many years at Palmer Station. She would often take her students as assistants. I feel so privledged to have been one of those lucky students. The Palmer biology lab is named for Dr. McWhinnie in recognition of all her contributions to Antarctic marine biology. The dedication plaque hangs in a busy hallway and serves to remind me how fortunate I am to have had Dr. Mary Alice in my life. [. . .]

In this video she talks about research and women in the Antarctic .

Last October an island in Antarctica was named after Margaret and her husband Charles Amsler, a UAB faculty member. For more first hand accounts of Antarctic research, check out the team's blog about last year's field work.

Tags: Margaret Amsler, antarctica, biology