Dr Chandrika Nath: Scientific research in the halls of power and at the poles

Scientific research has taken Dr Chandrika Nath from pole to pole. As a glaciologist she has worked in Lapland and Antarctica, spending 100 days in the latter collecting data samples in extreme isolation. The frigid, but tangible research, was an escape from the lab and her life as a particle physicist dealing with computer generated simulations. Four years later, she traded one harsh environment for another - becoming a scientific advisor to parliamentary policymakers but is now back at the poles as the executive director of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, the organisation supporting international collaboration in Antarctica. She speaks to Kathryn.