Andrew Mcminn
Professor
Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies
University of Tasmania
Australia
Biography
Andrew McMinn graduated from Sydney University with first class honours in 1978. He gained his PhD from Macquarie University (Sydney) in 1985. He was awarded a DSc from the University of Tasmania in 2006 and a Graduate Diploma of Language in Japanese in 2010. After working for ten years with the NSW Geological Survey in Sydney, working on Recent and Quaternary phytoplankton palaeoecology, he moved to Tasmania in 1991. Prof McMinn was one of the foundation staff members at the then recently established Institute of Antarctic and Southern Ocean Studies (IASOS) at the University of Tasmania. In May 2002 he become Director of that institute. Prof McMinn has spent 14 field seasons in the Antarctic, three at the Australian station, Davis, three Marine Science voyages and eight seasons at the New Zealand station, Scott Base. He has also had four field seasons in the Arctic with the Norwegians and five on sea ice in northern Hokkaido.
Research Interest
Most of my research work over the last twenty years has been focused on sea ice ecology and environmental change. I have investigated the ecology, biochemistry, production and photo physiology of the sea ice microbial communities. In particular, I pioneered the in situ use of micro sensors in polar environments. My work has also included an examination of the effects of UV, work that was subsequently published in Nature.
