Dr. Peter Wasilewski
As a NASA scientist, Dr. Peter Wasilewski used to play with rocks. He researched the magnetic properties of meteorites, Moon rocks and Earth rocks – wherever they were found. His passion for scientific quests led him to turn down a tryout for the Baltimore Colts professional football team so that he could participate in an expedition to the world’s largest piece of ice – Antarctica.
Peter fell in love with the frozen continent and has been back on 6 different expeditions over 25 years. During an early exploration near the base of the Antarctic Peninsula Peter trod where no human had set foot before and there stands an ancient volcano that bears his name-Mount Wasilewski. Later expeditions would have him collecting meteorites on the pale blue ice near the Trans-Antarctic mountains. He would sample this ice and learn about the “color” and shape of the ice crystals that could be seen in thin sections of the ice. Now Dr. Peter Wasilewski plays with ice. Painting with light on a canvas of ice.