The time has come for last year’s winterovers to pass the baton to the new crew that arrived at the South Pole last week. As a winterover, individuals brave the unforgiving environment to spend a year—sometimes longer—at the South Pole, half of which is enveloped in complete darkness. Every year, two winterovers are selected and sent to the South Pole to operate and maintain the IceCube detector.
This year, we are thrilled to welcome IceCube’s two new winterovers for the 2022–2023 season, Marc Jacquart and Hrvoje Dujmovic! Their journey to the Pole started with mandatory training at Madison, Wisconsin, before flying to Christchurch, New Zealand, and continuing on to McMurdo Station, a U.S. Antarctic facility, where they arrived last week. Finally, their next (and last) stop will be the South Pole, where they will spend a few weeks training with current winterovers Moreno and Celas before relieving them of their duties. Next up for Moreno and Celas is a well-deserved trip back home.
Read the Q&A below and get to know our new winterovers. Both IceCubers are looking forward to living and working in Antarctica, with Marc hoping to sharpen his photography skills and Hrvoje eager to enjoy views of the night sky.
Marc Jacquart
Hometown:
Vevey, Switzerland
Job and institution before this one:
I just finished my physics master’s degree from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne and did my master’s project at the Niels Bohr Institute’s IceCube group in Copenhagen.
How many continents have you been to (not counting Antarctica)?
Three: Europe, Africa, and North America.
Why did you apply for this opportunity?
I learned about the IceCube experiment around six years ago, and it played a major role in my decision to study particle physics. Since then, I have wanted to go to Antarctica to work directly on the detector and have an adventure in this isolated place filled with incredible scientific experiments.
What do you expect life to be like at the Pole?
Different every day. I will try not to have any expectations and stay curious. I want to seize every opportunity to learn more about this unique place: its history, the other science experiments, and all the infrastructure that makes life there possible. I am sure that by trying new activities with other station members, I will end up doing things I didn’t even know existed.
What are you most looking forward to doing at the South Pole?
Seeing the night sky and the auroras. I am actually looking forward to experiencing several months of complete darkness!
Least looking forward to?
Getting woken up in the middle of the night by a detector alert, with the additional pressure of having to fix the problem as quickly as possible.
What do you think you will miss the most about living up north?
Apart from my friends and family, I think hiking and eating fresh food.
What is one goal you have for your time at the South Pole?
Getting better at photography. This is a hobby I’ve had for a several years but never took the time to really explore and challenge myself. After so many great South Pole pictures by the winterovers, it will be hard to take new and interesting ones, but I will try my best!
Hrvoje Dujmovic
Hometown:
Zagreb, Croatia
Job and institution before this one:
I have worked on IceCube since 2015. My last job was at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology where I worked on the radio antennas for the IceCube surface enhancement array.
How many continents have you been to (not counting Antarctica)?
I have been to all continents except for South America.
Why did you apply for this opportunity?
Since I joined IceCube, I have been fascinated with the detector operations at the Pole, and I have always looked forward to the pictures and reports from the winterovers. So, I figured I would try to experience the same thing myself.
What do you expect life to be like at the Pole?
It’s just such a unique place. It will probably take some time to get used to the life there, but I am sure it is going to be great.
What are you most looking forward to doing at the South Pole?
Viewing the night sky, also just talking to all the unique people who will be there.
Least looking forward to?
I guess I am not too excited about the travel to the Pole. There are a lot of flights and paperwork involved.
What do you think you will miss the most about life up north?
Fresh fruit and showers.
What is one goal you have for your time at the South Pole?
Just having a good time and hopefully learning something new.