The Penn State Ice and Climate Exploration (PSICE) group has become a world leader in glacier research and graduate training in glaciology. It was launched in the early 1990s as part of the Earth System Science Center, a broad effort to understand how Earth's systems function naturally and how they might be affected by human activities. Eric Barron, now the president of Penn State, was the center's first director.
Glacier story-Richard Alley
Richard Alley, now Evan Pugh University Professor of Geosciences, was the first person hired for the new group. He had cut his teeth, glaciologically speaking, on ice cores—long tubes of ice that had been drilled out of the ice sheets in Greenland.
Glacier story-Sridhar Anandakrishnan
Sridhar Anandakrishnan came to PSICE soon after Alley. Now a professor of geosciences, Anandakrishnan uses his background in electrical engineering to develop devices that use seismic and radar waves, GPS coordinates, and other data to monitor subtle changes in the ice sheets.
Glacier story-Voigt examining core
Senior research associate Don Voigt, who recently retired, spent 18 three-month seasons on the ice, deploying sensors, setting off seismic charges, supervising research teams, and trying to stay warm. In this photo, he examines layers in an ice core at the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide Camp.
