Rate My Professor Christina Hulbe

Professor Christina Hulbe serves as Dean of the School of Surveying in the Division of Sciences at the University of Otago. She earned her BS from Montana Technological University in 1990, MS from Ohio State University in 1994, and PhD from the University of Chicago in 1998. Her career includes early work in remote west Antarctic field camps and a position as Professor and Chair of the Geology Department at Portland State University from 2011 to 2013. Since joining the University of Otago around 2013, she has advanced to Professor and Dean, leading interdisciplinary initiatives such as the Aotearoa New Zealand Ross Ice Shelf Programme—a collaboration with Victoria University, University of Canterbury, GNS Science, NIWA, and international partners—and the Antarctic Science Platform's Programme 1 on Antarctic Ice Dynamics, funded by MBIE under the Tiaki Whenua project.

Hulbe specializes in polar glaciology, Antarctic science, and spatial analysis, utilizing mathematical models, remote sensing data, statistical methods, and field observations to investigate ice sheet dynamics, fracture mechanics in floating ice, ocean-ice interactions, and responses to climate change, with a focus on the Ross Ice Shelf. Her influential publications include 'The link between climate warming and break-up of ice shelves in the Antarctic Peninsula' (Journal of Glaciology, 2000), 'Climate-induced ice shelf disintegration in the Antarctic Peninsula' (Antarctic Research Series, 2013), 'Tributaries of West Antarctic ice streams revealed by RADARSAT interferometry' (Science, 1999), and recent works such as 'Hydrographic variability in the central Ross Ice Shelf cavity and the implications for ocean circulation' (Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 2026) and 'A framework for characterizing 3-D structures of crevasses and rifts across Antarctic ice shelves' (IEEE Transactions on Geoscience & Remote Sensing, 2026). Among her honors are the 2020 Richardson Medal from the International Glaciological Society, shared with Eric Wolff, for transitioning to open access publishing; finalist in the 2019 OUSA Division of Science Supervisor of the Year Award; and the invited Nye Lecture at the 2016 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting. She has served as Vice President and Council member of the International Glaciological Society, chaired its Publications Committee, and currently chairs the Equity Advisory Committee to the School of Surveying Leadership Team.