Expedition members

Founder

Established the Arctic Research Group in 1988 after taking part in three previous Arctic expeditions. Leader on 8 of the 11 expeditions he went on, Ian is a Fellow of the RGS and has also been a President of The Arctic Club (2018).

Founder Member

Richard is a Founder Member of the Arctic Research Group and has been on five expeditions and is a Member of The Arctic Club. Richard owns his own Geotechnical Engineering Consultancy.

Member

Neil spends nearly every spare moment involved in a large range of outdoor activities. Neil is a clockmaker and works in his family business founded in 1826. Neil joined the ARG in 2023 and has been on two expeditions.

Member

David Pidgeon is a Bristol-based writer and former editor of The Media Leader. He joined the ARG in 2023 and has been on two expeditions.

Member

Jonathan has a passion for the outdoors, he has extensive experience in adventurous pursuits, including an ascent of Mont Blanc. He is a qualified pilot and is also firearms trained. Jonathan joined the ARG for the 2025 Tempelfjord expedition.

Member

Lily is an early-career researcher and polar educator, holding an MPhil in Polar Studies from the Scott Polar Research Institute at the University of Cambridge. Through her involvement with Polar Educators International, Lily delivers polar-themed geography lessons at her local primary school as well as at International Arctic Conferences.

Member

Steve is an experienced climber and now professional climbing instructor following a career in local government environmental services. With experience gained around the world including UK, Europe, India and Australasia, Steve is regularly seen in the Alps and has multiple summit achievements. A mature student of the Open University Steve has recently completed a Geology degree and is awaiting his final result.

Group Leader

Steve is a founder member and Group Leader of the ARG. Steve works as a geologist and geophysicist and is a member of The Arctic Club.

Founder Member

Retired Professor of Environmental Science at Nottingham University and formerly Reader at Imperial College. George is a Founder member of the ARG.

Member

Joseph has a master’s in architecture from the Manchester School of Architecture. Joe works as a conservation architect. Joe joined the ARG in 2023 and has been on two expeditions.

Member

Joseph works as a project manager in energy conservation measures in construction. Joseph joined the ARG for the 2025 Tempelfjord expedition.

Member

Siri studied geography at the Helsinki University and also works as a marketing professional. Siri joined the ARG for the 2023 Recherchefjord expedition.

Member

Sam Grant is a postdoctoral researcher at the Finnish Meteorological Institute based in Helsinki, Finland. His work focuses on studying space weather interactions with Mercury's magnetosphere and is involved in a two-spacecraft mission arriving at Mercury late in 2026, and has been honoured by the naming of asteroid (20656) Samuelgrant.

Member

Margo K. is an independent researcher based between Paris and Iceland. With a background in architecture and spatial design in Paris, she is now relocating to Iceland, where she is pursuing work in industrial environments alongside her research into how physical environments and material processes influence human perception, embodied interaction and the capacity to act. Her approach combines field observation, writing and experimental visual documentation. Margo is looking forward to her first expedition to Svalbard.

Founder Member

Mike is a Founder Member of the Arctic Research Group. Mike works in the Minerals Industry and has been to the Arctic on nine expeditions. and is a member of The Arctic Club.

Member

Chris has visited Svalbard more than 20 times and is fascinated by this place. Chris owns a business making and supplying bear alarms and is a member of The Arctic Club.

Member

Richard joined the ARG during 2021. Richard is the owner of a specialist construction restoration contracting business. Richard has been on two expeditions.

Member

Natalia currently works in the field of sustainable water resource management. She also runs her family-owned restaurant in Helsinki. Natalia joined the ARG for the 2025 Tempelfjord expedition.

Member

Nick made several recreational visits to Svalbard and Nick joined the ARG for the 2023 Recherchefjord expedition.

Member

Sam is a research chemist working in the area of oncology treatments and is a fan of all things outdoors. Sam will be expanding his research interests into environmental chemistry and plans to investigate the presence of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in glacial runoff, surface soil and at various depths to/into the permafrost.