Cornelia Lüdecke, SCAR History EG, Munich, Germany
Date/time: Wed 7th March, 15:30 – 16:30
Venue: IMAS Sandy Bay Seminar Room
Abstract:
Impressed by John Franklin’s adventures in Northern Canada and Fridtjof Nansen’s crossing of Greenland, Roald Amundsen (1872-1929) decided to become an admired polar researcher. His aim was to finish Franklin’s North-West Passage and to drift to the North Pole, where his idol Nansen failed. As a first step in his polar career, Amundsen gained experience during the Belgian Antarctic expedition (1897-1899), where the physician of the expedition, Frederik Cook, was his teacher. With some additional training in magnetic field measurements at the German Maritime Observatory in Hamburg, Amundsen was well prepared for the North-West Passage (1903-1906). His success was very much celebrated in the young Norwegian nation established only a year ago. Then Amundsen planned the drift to the North Pole with Nansen’s “Fram” entering the East Siberian Sea from the Pacific. When he learnt that his friend Cook already had reached the North Pole, he changed his mind and headed to the South Pole although everybody knew that it would be the British Robert Falcon Scott who would reach it first. However, Amundsen’s detailed preparations based on efficient use of dog sledges led to his victory ahead of the British expedition on 14 December 1911. But when the news was spread that his beaten rival Scott died on the return journey, Amundsen’s triumph was overshadowed a lot. After his detour south, Nansen placed Amundsen under the obligation to start his drift to the North Pole, because he was interested in the oceanographic data to be taken. The background and consequences of Amundsen’s last expeditions will be demonstrated also during this presentation.
Biography:
Cornelia Lüdecke finished her studies at the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich with a diploma in meteorology. Afterwards she worked for MAN Neue Technologie AG doing literature research for various projects including a comprehensive survey of the physical properties of sea ice. 1994 she passed her PhD at the Institute for History of Natural Sciences in Munich with a thesis on the history of German polar research and the influence of Erich von Drygalski during the period 1900 –1939. In 2002 she finished her second thesis (in German: Habilitation) on “Chapters from the history of earth-sciences – protagonists, theses, institutions” at the Centre for History of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Technology at the University of Hamburg and was give the title “Privatdozent” in the following year. Since then she has been teaching history of earth-sciences at the University of Hamburg.
In 1991 she founded the History of Polar Research Working Group of the German Society of Polar Research, which she is leading until today. Since 1995 she chaired the History of Meteorology Specialist Group of the German Meteorological Society. At the foundation of the International Commission on History of Meteorology in 2001 she was elected Vice President. In January 2006 she became President and since 2010 she is acting as Past President of this commission. In 2004 she organized the first international five day conference on history of meteorology at the monastery of Polling in southern Germany.
In 2004 she founded and still is leading the Action Group on History of Antarctic Research within the Scientific Committee of Antarctic Research (SCAR). The group was upgraded to an Expert Group in 2010. She organized workshops for this group in Munich,, Chile, USA and South Africa.
Cornelia Lüdecke had published more 150 papers, an exhibition catalogue, three proceedings, and three monographs, among them a new biography on Roald Amundsen. Besides she gave numerous lectures during conferences and workshops in Germany and abroad.
In 2010 she received the Reinhard Süring Medal from the German Meteorological Society.
Finally, she is German national representative of the International Polar Heritage Committee of the International Council of Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS). The next conference of this committee will start tomorrow afternoon at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Galery.