Teacher honored for polar research and inspiring students
Summary and headline written by AI from the source article. How we work
Zhao Xi, a professor at Sun Yat-sen University in China, received the “Most Beautiful Teacher” award for her dedication to polar research and education.
For over a decade, Zhao Xi has integrated scientific research with China’s polar expeditions, traveling from the Antarctic ice sheet to the Arctic Ocean. She participated in China’s 36th Antarctic expedition in 2019, enduring harsh conditions aboard the “Xuelong” ship and China’s first fixed-wing polar aircraft, “Snow Eagle 601”, to collect vital data.
Zhao Xi also served as an assistant chief scientist on the maiden voyage of Sun Yat-sen University’s icebreaker, the “中山大学极地号” (Zhongshan University Polar), where she planned routes and led teams in collecting ice and snow data. Her research focuses on improving the accuracy of remote sensing technology for monitoring polar sea ice, addressing uncertainties and enhancing China’s independent observation capabilities in the Arctic and Antarctic.
Beyond her research, Zhao Xi prioritizes education, bringing her field experiences into the classroom and mentoring students. She developed teaching materials based on her polar expeditions, guided students through data analysis, and helped them publish their first research papers. She also actively promotes international collaboration, fostering exchange programs and joint research projects with institutions like the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany and the Australian Antarctic Division.
She aims to build a long-term, comprehensive dataset of sea ice, contributing to global climate change research and training the next generation of polar scientists.
