Eric Gee - Ice Station Expedition

"Being selected to attend the Ice Station Expedition was more than an honor; it was a responsibility. Dropping a second‑year college student from rural Hawaiʻi into one of the harshest climates on Earth sounded absurd even to me. Before leaving, I kept asking myself: Am I going to get frostbite? Will the UV rays scorch my skin? Can I really adapt to a place this extreme?

The truth surprised me.

For most of our time in Antarctica, the weather was calm, almost gentle. I still remember stepping off the plane and seeing the continent for the first time–an endless expanse of white snow and blue ice stretching farther than my eyes could follow. And yet, wrapped in four layers, I was overheating. Within minutes, I had to peel one off. The 24‑hour daylight threw my sleep schedule into chaos, but even that became part of the rhythm of life on Union Glacier. Slowly, this frozen wilderness began to feel like home. On the ground, our team collected data for NASA on dry permafrost—something found in only three places in the known universe: twice in Antarctica and once on Mars. Knowing that our work might one day help humanity reach another planet was humbling. But the lesson that stayed with me most wasn’t scientific at all.

It was the power of story.

My own story began in a small town on Hawaiʻi Island, where I grew up watching climate change reshape the environment around me. That experience is why I believe that young people are the stewards who will guide future generations toward resilience, innovation, and their fullest potential.

That’s why I’m proud to announce @theantarcticdiary, a platform dedicated to uplifting young voices from around the world. Your story matters. Your voice carries weight. And you deserve a space to share it."

— Eric P. Gee Villars Fellow, 2022

C-MAY

"C-MAY is a Swiss-based startup driving the energy transition in Ethiopia by targeting the country’s popular tuk-tuk (also known as “bajaj” or “keke”) public transportation sector. In response to Ethiopia’s 2024 ban on gasoline and diesel vehicle imports and its status as a pioneer in renewables—where around 90% of national electricity already comes from renewable sources—C-MAY aims to make electric mobility affordable and practical for local drivers.

The venture was inspired in summer 2024, when founder Robel T. saw long lines of tuk-tuks waiting for fuel in Ethiopia. Noting the country’s growing supply of hydroelectric power, but also its uneven distribution (only about 48% of the population has access), C-MAY proposes to retrofit existing tuk-tuks by swapping out combustion engines for electric ones, fitted with innovative, swappable battery systems. This system saves drivers the high cost of buying new vehicles and battery packs, as drivers can simply change depleted batteries for charged ones at designated stations, reducing downtime and overcoming the limitations of the power grid

C-MAY operates with a young, international team and embodies the principles of frugal innovation and ecological entrepreneurship. Winners of the Swiss Start-Contest Public’s Favourite and Sustainability prize , C-MAY’s solution could serve as a model for sustainable, scalable urban transport modernization in emerging economies well beyond Ethiopia."

— Robel Tesfamariam Villars Intensive Program on Ecopreneurship (VIP-e), 2024 Alumni