The Embassy of Switzerland in Australia is delighted to announce the inaugural recipients of the Mertz Fellowship programme. Following the first call for applications conducted between September and November 2022, two AUD 10,000 Fellowships will be awarded thanks to the generous financial support of the Swiss Polar Institute and the Antarctic Science Foundation who will jointly fund a Fellow.

The Mertz Fellowship programme is designed to encourage the active involvement of early-career researchers in polar and high-altitude science, and to promote linkages between Swiss and Australian higher education and research institutions through scientific networking and joint projects.

The Embassy of Switzerland in Australia manages the programme implemented in collaboration with the Swiss Polar Institute. The programme receives funding from the Swissnex network, part of the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI).

The details for the two inaugural Fellows are listed below:

Melissa Gerwin from the University of Tasmania, Australia, will pursue her project titled ‘A global tool for assessing high-altitude ecosystem vulnerability to warming’ at the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF in Davos, Switzerland.

Amy Macfarlane from the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF in Davos, Switzerland, will pursue her project titled ‘Radiative transfer modelling applied to melting Arctic and Antarctic sea ice’ with the Australian Antarctic Program Partnership (AAPP). 

The next call for applications will run between May and July 2023. More details to be announced shortly.