Academic and adventurer describes the incredible task of climbing and cataloguing one of the most remote regions of the South American Andes mountains
Issued by University of Leicester Press Office on 10 October 2016
Images of Dr Suzie Imber at the Andes mountain range are available here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/raxmtzl87mnxn97/AAAjtqZs3hVI4taCNEilfZL8a?dl=0
- The lecture takes place Wednesday 12 October at 6.30pm in Lecture Theatre A of the Physics and Astronomy Building, University of Leicester
- Sponsored by the Institute of Physics, the event is part of a programme which celebrates the achievements of women in science
A University of Leicester physics lecturer and mountaineer is giving a talk about a unique adventure which saw her scale and catalogue a remote corner of the Andes mountains.
Dr Suzie Imber, 32, will host 'Nameless Peaks of the Andes' on Wednesday 12 October at the University of Leicester, during which she will describe the often perilous project which saw her fulfil every mountaineer’s dream: to be the first person to identify, climb, and then officially record a series of uncharted mountains in the remote, high altitude Andes.
The lecture is taking place as part of Ada Lovelace Day, which celebrates the achievements of women in science, and is part of a programme of events being organised by the University.
Dr Imber's talk will describe how she used the University supercomputer to construct the first objective and accurate list of mountains above 6,000, and subsequently above 5,000 metres, working alongside fellow climber Maximo Kausch.
The team quickly realised that many of these mountains did not appear on the existing catalogues, and set out to climb some of these unknown mountains, along with friend and Brazilian mountaineer, Pedro Hauck.
They secured sponsorship from the Mount Everest Foundation, and the British Mountaineering Council, and set off into the most remote part of the Andes.
Describing the two-month journey, Dr Imber said: “It’s the dream of every mountaineer to climb a peak that nobody has succeeded in summiting before.
“We targeted some of the most remote mountains in the Andes, facing 100 mph winds that destroyed our tents and temperatures so low they froze our vehicles to eventually summit nine of these mountains.
“We discovered Incan ruins on the summit of several of these peaks, leading to further questions of how and why the Incas, centuries ago, preceded our journey.”
The lecture, sponsored by the Institute of Physics, takes place on Wednesday 12 October at 6.30pm in Lecture Theatre A of the Physics and Astronomy Building.
It will be preceded at 6.00pm, in Lecture Theatre C by a facilitated discussion on creativity in science as part of Ada Lovelace Day, celebrating the achievements of women in science, technology, engineering and maths.
Dr Darren Wright, Reader and Head of First Year Teaching in the Radio and Space Plasma Physics Group, at the Department of Physics and Astronomy, said: “Suzie is an outstanding and dynamic scientist who exhibits a rare enthusiasm both for her science and for mountaineering.
“I have never known anyone else who works so tirelessly and as hard as she does to fulfil her passions.”
To reserve seats please visit: www.iopconferences.org/iop/997/home
You can read a feature on Dr Imber’s Andes Adventures here: http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/press/features/features-2016/discovery-led-learning-academic-follows-passion-for-adventure-with-aid-from-supercomputer
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