Professor Dame Jane Francis is Director of the British Antarctic Survey, based in Cambridge. A geologist by training from the University of Southampton, she was a NERC Postdoctoral Fellow in London, palaeobotanist at the British Antarctic Survey, Australian Research Fellow at the University of Adelaide, a Royal Society Leverhulme Trust Senior Research Fellow and Professor of Palaeoclimatology at the University of Leeds, where she was also Dean of the Faculty of Environment.

Her research interests include ancient climates and fossil plants from the Arctic and Antarctica, used to decipher ancient polar climates of the past. She was awarded the Polar Medal for her contribution to British polar research and earlier this year was appointed Dame Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George (DCMG) in recognition of services to UK polar science and diplomacy.

Talk: When Antarctica was Green

You can find out more about the British Antarctic Survey here.