The staff of the Heising-Simons Foundation was deeply saddened to learn of the untimely passing of Dr. Gordon Hamilton—a Foundation grantee and prominent researcher from the University of Maine—after he suffered an accident on October 22 while conducting research in Antarctica. Dr. Hamilton, a physical glaciologist, was renowned for his research on glaciers and their relation to climate and sea level changes.

Dr. Hamilton was the co-primary investigator on the Foundation’s grant to design, engineer, and deploy an autonomous glacier-monitoring instrument on Helheim Glacier in Greenland. The Foundation has been proud to partner with the University of Maine and advance research to understand global climate change and its ramifications for mankind with the support of this instrument.

Many of us got to experience, firsthand, Dr. Hamilton’s contagious passion, and revel in his expertise when he presented his research to our full staff this past February. Our thoughts and deepest sympathies go out to his wife, Fiona, their two children, Martin and Calum, and the entire scientific community who lost a talented and trusted leader far too soon.

We invite you to learn more by reading recent statements released by the University of Maine and the National Science Foundation.