Professor Miles Lamare Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu
Miles first visited Antarctica as a PhD student in 1993 and continues to visit (over 16 times) for his research, which focusses on the physiology of Antarctic marine invertebrates. He is Professor of Marine Sciences at Te Whare Wānanga o Otāgo

Dr Phil Lyver Ngāti Toarangatira ki Wairau
Phil started working in Antarctica in 2004 and has returned to do research many seasons since. He maintains a presence in Antarctic research including by supporting young Māori researchers and interns in Antarctica, including Isaac Sutherland (Ngati Kuri, Te Tai Tokerau) and Puke Timoti (Tūhoe). Phil works across a broad range Wildlife Biology and Ecology research projects from Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research and with Ngā Pae o Te Māramatanga.

Associate Professor Ocean Mercier Ngāti Porou
Ocean spent several weeks in Antarctica early in her research career working on Antarctic sea ice diffusion, and has since completed her PhD in physics. Her research interests have expanded and now focus on mātauranga Māori and science and how they relate to each other. She is currently Head of School of Te Kawa a Maui at Te Herenga Waka in Wellington.

Professor Jacqueline Beggs Ngāti Awa
Jacqueline participated in penguin research project in Antarctica in 2001. Her career as a terrestrial ecologist spans a broad range of research interests and topics, and she is now a Professor of Ecology at the University of Auckland.

Nigel Scott Te Rūnaka o Ngāi Tahu
Nigel visited Antarctica as part of the University of Cantebury 3rd Year Antarctic programme and examined fisheries management in the Southern Ocean against Ngāi Tahu protocols of kaitiakitanga. He is the Primary Advisor for Te Ao Turoa, the environmental unit of the Ngāi Tahu tribal council which aims to protect and enhance the custormary fishing rights of Ngāi Tahu.

Dr Gillian Gibb Ngāti Mutunga
Gillian took part in penguin research in Antarctica the early 2000s, at the beginning of her research career. Since then she has completed her PhD in Ecology and is now a Molecular Biologist and Senior Lecturer at Massey University.

Dr Dan Hikuroa Ngāti Maniapoto, Tainui, Te Arawa
After completing his PhD in Geology, Dan joined the British Antarctic survey team to conduct geological research on the Antarctic Peninsula. Dan’s research interests have expanded and are broad ranging but focus on the intersections between mātauranga Māori and science. He is now a Senior Lecturer at the University of Auckland in Māori Studies and holds various positions that seek to promote and protect Indigenous knowledge.

Dr Pete Russell Ngāpuhi
Pete is a highly talented engineer and scientist with research and teaching expertise in sedimentology and oceanography. He is currently a postdoctoral researcher at Te Whare Wānanga o Otāgo investigating the complex physical processes of sea ice melt to give us a greater understanding of potential sea level rise. Pete is ready to head to Antarctica in the 2021/22 season.

Dr Vincent (Billy) van Uitregt Ngā Rauru, Tūhoe, Ngati Nederlander

Billy is Australian born and raised and completed his PhD in Ecology in 2012. He has since worked with Australian First Nations in various roles that sought to bring Indigenous world views and knowledges to the fore in environmental management. He has “returned” to Aotearoa to research how Māori voices and knowledges can equitably be brought to Antarctica and is now a Lecturer at Te Herenga Waka in Wellington.

Associate Professor Krushil Watene Ngāti Manu, Te Hikutu, Ngāti Whātua o Orākei, Tonga Mbr> Krushil is an Associate Professor at Massey University Department of Philosophy, specialising in moral and political philosophies of well-being, development, and justice with a particular focus on indigenous philosophies. She is interested in how Māori philosophy can help us to rethink our connection and responsibilities in Antarctica.

Priscilla Wehi

Cilla’s research explores the relationship between conservation biology and mātauranga from her lived experience in extended whānau communities of Waikato, Ngāpuhi nui tonu and Tūhoe while also drawing on her roots as a New Zealand woman with Scottish clan origins and as a mother of three children. She is interested in how Antarctic research can become more inclusive, including of te ao Māori and mātauranga.

Ngahuia Mita Te Aitanga a Mahaki, Ngāti Konohi, Ngāti Konohi 
He uri ahau nō Te Tairāwhiti nō Hauraki anō hoki. Nōku te maringanui i te raumati 2016/17 e haere ana au ki te whenua taurikura o Te Tiritiri o Te Moana – Antarctica. I haere au i raro i te maru ō te Ross Ice Shelf Programme (nā NZARI Aotearoa te pūtea tautoko), me te kaihautū Ahorangi Christina Hulbe, Kelly Gragg rātou ko Michelle Ryan, tumuaki o te Kura Kairuri. Ko tāku he kaupapa rangahau e pā ana ki ngā kaiwhakatere waka o neherā, ngā tūpuna e tae atu ki Te Tiritiri o te Moana, ko Hui-te-Rangiora te tipuna rongonui. E noho ana au ki Scott Base mō ngā wiki e toru, hei akiaki i te rōpū rangahau, ā, ka taea e au te rongo te āhua o te whenua me te titiro ki ngā whakaariari i kite e rātou.

Tawhana kahukura i runga, ko Hui-te-Rangiora te moana i tere ai – The rainbow spans the heavens whilst Hui-te-Rangiora navigates the oceans.

My name is Ngahuia and I come from Te Tairāwhiti (The East Coast of the North Island). In the summer of 2016/17 I had the honour of travelling to Antarctica alongside scientists including Professor Christina Hulbe, Kelly Gragg and Michelle Ryan under the Ross Ice Shelf Programme (funded by NZARI Aotearoa). The wider purpose of the research programme is to examine the Ross Ice Shelf and its response to climate change. My role was as an intern focusing on Māori and Polynesian voyages to Antarctica and thus the whakapapa connection that we as Māori and Polynesian descendants have to the continent. The findings of this research highlight the importance of the inclusion of Māori and Polynesian voices in Antarctic research. The work of Antarctic scientists is ground-breaking and critical in understanding our planets response to climate change, a change that ultimately effects Māori, coastal communities and all of us. Therefore I believe the inclusion of mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) can only enhance these approaches. I acknowledge those who made it possible for me to experience what our tīpuna (ancestors) would have hundreds of years ago and all of the Māori Antarctic scientists, kaimahi (workers) and explorers that have gone before me.