Making Arctic Matter: creativity in polar science field practices

Creativity in science matters. Yet how does it come about? This study aims to explore the role of creativity in scientific fieldwork practice, in particular in polar scientists' engagement with the Arctic environment. In this project I locate creativity n ot in scientists' minds but in their practices, with creativity not as inventions but as acts of improvisation in daily activities. Instead of focusing on what scientists 'know', I explore what scientists actually 'do', to investigate how their knowledge comes about. This will not be a study 'of' polar scientists but a study 'with' them. I will do this by conducting participant observation with polar scientists at NILU, The Norwegian Institute for Air Research at the Fram Centre in Tromsø, for a period of five months. Research will take place in the science labs and on a field expedition to Svalbard. I will look at how scientists manipulate matter such as air and snow. I will explore the dynamic triangle between scientists - matter - environment, how it f luctuates and how this fluidity relates to the transformation of air and snow. It is in this triangle that I look for creativity, in processes of improvisation and adaptation. Svalbard is the ultimate location for this investigation, as its unique natural environment is so all-encompassing that matter is not only around us but also in us and of us. As human beings we are immersed in a sea of matter, especially in the evolving Arctic environment, where this very change is the subject of scientists' researc h into pollution and climate change. By looking at how polar scientists manipulate matter, this research aims to make the Arctic matter to non-scientists, to address the gap between polar science knowledge and our everyday lived experiences in the environ ment. The main outcomes of the research will be two articles in academic journals, a photographic exhibition to reach out beyond academia, and a multidisciplinary workshop on creativity in science.