The Roles of Physicians in 19th Century Polar Exploration

Douglas Kondziolka collects arctic and antarctic polar exploration books, maps and letters from the era of the late eighteenth through the early twentieth century. A focus on the Arctic was stimulated first by his Canadian father’s tenure with the US Air Force at their Canadian base in the arctic in the 1950s, and later by the popular historian Pierre Berton and his book "The Arctic Grail." Dr. Kondziolka’s collection began in 1994 and was fostered by several trips to the arctic to visit important exploration sites. The collection documents the important steps in Arctic discovery, both for a Northwest passage to Asia, and to the North Pole itself. The publications, letters and maps tell that story of a cast of unique characters, and among them many physicians, who dared to venture into lands unknown. In this talk, the roles of physicians, spanning from naturalists, to artists, to caregivers, to troublemakers, will be highlighted.

Wine and refreshments will be provided during the talk. Please register no later than Wednesday, January 25, 2017.

Friends of the Rare Book Room are invited to come at 6:00pm to look at selected books with the speaker in the Drs. Barry and Bobbi Coller Rare Book Reading Room prior to the talk. This event is part of our series for Friends. To join the Friends please click here. 

About the Speaker

Dr. Douglas Kondziolka received his medical degree from the University of Toronto and graduated from the Toronto neurosurgery residency program in 1991. From 1989 to 1991 at the University of Pittsburgh, he completed a master of science program in the Department of Behavioral Neuroscience and a fellowship in stereotactic surgery and radiosurgery. He joined the faculty of the Department of Neurological Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh in January 1992 and later was named Chief of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery. In November 2012, Dr. Kondziolka joined the neurosurgery faculty at New York University as Professor and Vice-Chair for Clinical Research.