Max Holmes

Max Holmes, director of the Polaris Project, is a senior scientist at the Woods Hole Research Center in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. He is an earth system scientist with broad interests in the responses and feedbacks of ecosystems to environmental change. Most of Max’s current research takes place in the Arctic and addresses climate change impacts.

In 2008 and 2009, Max was also the Chesley Distinguished Visiting Associate Professor of Biology at Carleton College and recruited students from Carleton to the Polaris Project. More about Max here.

Journals

Congratulations to Claire Griffin!

Claire Griffin (Polaris 2009) has just been awarded a prestigious NSF Graduate Research Fellowship to support her PhD research on organic matter in large arctic rivers.
- By Max Holmes
- March 30, 2012
Equipment at the Northeast Science Station

Though the Northeast Science Station was founded over 2 decades ago, in recent years the laboratory facilities at the Station have been greatly upgraded.
- By Max Holmes
- January 05, 2012
Polaris Project at SACNAS

The Polaris Project had an information and recruitment booth at the recent SACNAS conference in San Jose, California. We are eager to see the applications for Polaris 2012 that are generated from this exposure.
- By Max Holmes
- November 09, 2011
Claire Griffin Publishes Her Polaris Project Research

In January 2008, Claire Griffin (a sophomore at Clark University) applied for the inaugural Polaris Project expedition. She was accepted. Unfortunately, one month before leaving, Claire fell off a horse and broke her arm, ending her chance to be part of the 2008 field course. But Claire persevered. She reapplied in 2009 and was again [...]
- By Max Holmes
- August 12, 2011
22 Converging Dots

In less than 2 days 19 of us will converge on Dulles Airport in DC, and then fly together to Moscow where will link up with the other three participants (two from Russia and one from Switzerland).
- By Max Holmes
- June 30, 2011
Max Wilbert Wins Journalism Award

Max Wilbert, a recent graduate from Western Washington University and a participant in the 2010 Polaris Project field course, has just won a national competition for his article “Siberian Summer” about his Polaris Project experience.
- By Max Holmes
- May 04, 2011
Erin Seybold Awarded Fulbright

Erin Seybold, a senior at St. Olaf College and a participant in the 2009 and 2010 Polaris Project field courses, has been awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to study in Tromso, Norway over the coming year.
- By Max Holmes
- May 04, 2011
Heather Alexander Awarded NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship

Heather Alexander, one of the five 2010 Polaris Project “Affiliates” (see Team page), has been awarded a prestigious NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship to continue her work on the boreal forest in the Kolyma River watershed.
- By Max Holmes
- May 04, 2011
Polaris 2011 Students Selected

Fourteen undergraduate students have been selected to participate in the summer 2011 Polaris Project field course / research experience in the Siberian Arctic. Though we had to decline many outstanding applicants, we are thrilled that all of the students we extended offers to have accepted our invitations. They are: Mantsa Andzhushey – Moscow State University [...]
- By Max Holmes
- March 16, 2011
Apply Now for Summer 2011

Undergraduate students interested in participating in the Polaris Project Siberian field course should complete their application by February 20, 2011. To be eligible to apply, you must be an undergraduate student, currently in your junior or sophomore year (in exceptional cases a senior may be accepted). Students from any four-year accredited college or university are [...]
- By Max Holmes
- January 28, 2011
Polaris Project on NPR

Max Holmes was recently interviewed about the Polaris Project for the 30-minute NPR radio show “The Point”. The interview was broadcast on Tuesday, September 14, on WCAI. It has now been archived online and can be heard by clicking here.
- By Max Holmes
- September 13, 2010
17 AGU Abstracts

Each December in San Francisco, the American Geophysical Union (AGU) holds the world’s largest scientific conference that focuses on Earth sciences. This year, Polaris Project participants submitted 17 abstracts for presentations at AGU based on their research as part of the Polaris Project. Even more remarkable, ten of the abstracts have undergraduate students as lead [...]
- By Max Holmes
- September 12, 2010
An Upside to Global Warming?

Well, maybe not, but it was remarkable nevertheless to see many of the Polaris Project students swimming in the Arctic Ocean a few days ago. For most of the year this part of the ocean is covered in sea ice. The image below, courtesy of the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado, [...]
- By Max Holmes
- July 26, 2010
We’re Back!

The Team made it back to Cherskiy late last night after a magnificent 36 hour trip to the Arctic Ocean and tundra. Weather extended the trip beyond our planned ~16 hours, which only added to the spectacular nature of the expedition. I’ll let others tell the whole story. For now, we’re all safe and well [...]
- By Max Holmes
- July 25, 2010
Heading to the Tundra and Arctic Ocean

Tomorrow morning we pile into three small boats and head north to the tundra and hopefully the coastal Arctic Ocean. The trip north has been one of the highlights of each of the first two years of the Polaris Project. We expect that the same will be true this year. We’ll post a trip summary [...]
- By Max Holmes
- July 23, 2010
Sharing Data…

The three overarching objectives of the Polaris Project are to 1) train the next generation of arctic researchers, 2) advance scientific understanding of the Arctic, and 3) expand public awareness of the feedbacks between the Arctic and the global climate system. The collection and dissemination of important, high quality data is important for all of [...]
- By Max Holmes
- July 21, 2010
Polaris Project Seminar Series – July 2010

Though we often refer to this Siberian adventure as a field course, it really is more of a hands-on research experience. Nevertheless, we have taken advantage of brief breaks in the action to present a series of research seminars and discussions. The list below shows the seminars that have been given during our first week [...]
- By Max Holmes
- July 13, 2010
Remarkable Sampling Transect

Nikita Zimov and Max Holmes – sampling the Arctic Ocean off the mouth of the Kolyma River. The Polaris Project is interested in the transport and transformation of carbon and nutrients as they flow with water from uplands to the Arctic Ocean. As the satellite image below shows, there are a remarkable diversity of ecosystems [...]
- By Max Holmes
- July 12, 2010
An Oasis in the Siberian Arctic

Research in the Arctic is tough – more often accomplished with duct tape than high tech instruments, which are typically sequestered in laboratories far removed from the Arctic. One of the challenges for foreign researchers working in Russia is that sample export is very difficult and expensive. At the same time, analytical facilities at remote [...]
- By Max Holmes
- July 09, 2010
On the way…

Seven of us are now sitting in Dulles Airport, having traveled from Boston earlier today. Over the next few hours, our group will grow to 25 people (hopefully!), and at 4:50 pm we’ll depart together for Moscow. We’ll arrive in Moscow at 11 am on Saturday, Aug. 3, spend the night there, and then depart [...]
- By Max Holmes
- July 02, 2010
Polaris II Proposal Submitted

The Polaris Project got its start with a proposal submitted to the National Science Foundation (NSF) in March 2007. We learned six months later that the proposal was funded, and on Jan. 1, 2008, the Polaris Project was officially underway. Remarkably, we are now 2.5 years into the project, which was originally funded for three [...]
- By Max Holmes
- June 12, 2010
2010 Polaris Project Students Selected

Though the 2010 Polaris Project field course in Siberia doesn’t begin for over 3 months, preparations are ramping up quickly. We have just finished selecting the 2010 undergraduate participants and are thrilled about the group, our largest yet. Fourteen undergraduate students have been selected, 10 new and 4 returning students. Things happen quickly now that [...]
- By Max Holmes
- March 12, 2010
4 Polaris Students Earn Scholarships to Arctic Conference in Miami

The State of the Arctic Conference (http://soa.arcus.org) will be held next week in Miami (March 16-19, 2010). This large conference is drawing Arctic scientists from around the world. Twenty-five scholarships were awarded to outstanding students to support their travel to the conference. Four of the scholarship winners are Polaris Project students, a remarkable accomplishment. Congratulations [...]
- By Max Holmes
- March 11, 2010
Polaris Project Video

After countless hours of work, Chris Linder has completed a 10-minute video that follows the Polaris Project during the 2009 field course. The video can be accessed from the “Stories” page of this website. Chris did a fantastic job – I really think that the video will help others get a better understanding of the [...]
- By Max Holmes
- September 30, 2009
University of Nevada Reno Tells the Story!

One of the objectives of the Polaris Project is to help get the story of the Arctic, climate change, and the Polaris Project to as broad an audience as possible. The Polaris Project website is one means of doing so, as are public presentations by project faculty and students as well as media interviews. Sudeep [...]
- By Max Holmes
- August 21, 2009
The New York Times…

A story about the Polaris Project has just been posted to Andy Revkin’s Dot Earth blog at the New York Times. I think it is safe to say that Revkin is generally considered to be the top science journalist in the US, and of course the New York Times has a vast readership, so we’re [...]
- By Max Holmes
- July 24, 2009
Polaris Project in the News…

An article about the Polaris Project was just published in Field Notes, the National Science Foundation’s Arctic logistics contractor Polar Field Services. To view the article, click here.
- By Max Holmes
- July 24, 2009
Optimism…

Most of the Polaris Project participants have probably heard me say how seeing the airplane that we take from Yakutsk to Cherskiy immediately separates the optimists from the pessimists. A pessimist would look at the age and condition of the plane and question whether it could possibly complete another flight. An optimist takes comfort in [...]
- By Max Holmes
- July 13, 2009
Where is “the Arctic”?

In the previous post, Sudeep Chandra says that he hopes they’ll be able to post additional updates from Yakutsk before leaving for “the Arctic”. This raises the question: Where is the Arctic? What do you think?
- By Max Holmes
- July 04, 2009
Asleep (hopefully) in Moscow…

As I write this while sitting in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, at 8:20 pm Eastern time, I’m hoping that all members of the expedition team are now sleeping soundly in the hotel in Moscow. However, given the 11 hour flight they have just endured, the 8 hour time change, and the associated jet-lag, I suspect that [...]
- By Max Holmes
- July 03, 2009
Polaris Project in the News

As Andy Bunn mentioned, on June 30 an article about the Polaris Project was published in EOS, the weekly publication of the American Geophysical Union (AGU). You can view the article here. AGU is one of the world’s largest scientific societies, and all 50,000+ members receive EOS each week. Membership to AGU is also one [...]
- By Max Holmes
- July 02, 2009
Onward!

Well, after months of planning and anticipation, the Polaris Project expedition to Siberia begins today. Congratulations to everyone for all of the work that has gotten us confidently to this point. I greatly regret that I won’t be traveling with the group this year, though my regret is tempered by the fact that I’ll instead [...]
- By Max Holmes
- July 02, 2009
Welcome New Students!

We have just completed the selection of students for the 2009 Polaris Project field course. It was a grueling process because we received applications from many more exceptional students than we could accept, but we’re thrilled with the outcome. The new students are: Travis Drake and Moira Hough: Carleton College Blaize Denfeld and Claire Griffin: [...]
- By Max Holmes
- March 03, 2009
Homeward bound…

We’re all currently sitting in an cafe in Moscow, reflecting on the past 3+ weeks of the Polaris Project and getting excited about the fact that we’re heading home tomorrow. Several of us were talking yesterday evening about how difficult it will be to summarize the experience to our families and friends when we get [...]
- By Max Holmes
- July 26, 2008
Home – NY – Moscow – Yakutsk… Cherskiy Tomorrow!

We are now several days into our trip and we’ll finally reach Cherskiy, our final destination, tomorrow (if all goes as planned). Things have gone mostly smoothly so far, with one notable exception. One of the undergraduate students had a health issue (sinus infection) that was quite severe when we were in Moscow, and after several [...]
- By Max Holmes
- July 08, 2008
Ready to Go!

After several months of work, on March 16, 2007, we submitted our Polaris Project proposal to the National Science Foundation’s International Polar Year grant competition. Six months later we learned that our proposal was successful – the project would actually happen. We’ve now completed our first round of on-campus courses at the collaborating colleges and [...]
- By Max Holmes
- June 27, 2008
Max’s Update from Yakutsk, Siberia

As part of another NSF funded project, I’m in Russia for ~3 weeks with a group of four people. Two have never been to Russia before, so in some ways it is a good test run to help identify some of the logistical challenges we’ll face moving the Polaris Project group from the US to [...]
- By Max Holmes
- March 10, 2008
14,000 and growing…

Every December a huge number of scientists gather in San Francisco for the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU). This year there were over 14,000 attendees, and the number grows every year. Though the meeting covers almost all aspects of earth and planetary science, climate change and polar regions were clearly dominant themes. [...]
- By Max Holmes
- January 08, 2008
Welcome to the Polaris Project website and blog

‘Global warming’ is all over the news these days, mainly because of changes that are happening far away or because of events we fear may happen some time in the future. But in the Arctic, big changes are happening now. The Polaris Project will train undergraduates at five US universities and one Russian university to [...]
- By Max Holmes
- November 28, 2007
Northward Bound!

The Polaris Project will give undergraduate students the opportunity to witness the changing Arctic first-hand as they participate in a field course and research experience in northeastern Siberia (8 time zones east of Moscow!). After completing an on-campus course associated with the Polaris Project, a select group of undergraduate students will travel with project scientists [...]
- By Max Holmes
- November 28, 2007