Antarctica providing exciting field trip for U. professor, students

The rescue operation had the desired outcome. "Within about 30 minutes of the drama unfolding, our three team members were safely back on the main ice floe," the blog reported.

Golden is upbeat about the science being conducted on the expedition.

"Our experiments are going really well," Golden wrote in an email. "We've seen so many amazing things: tons of penguins just a couple of feet away, pink icebergs at sunrise, frenetic seals running around our ice stations, an aurora, a whale surfacing just 15 feet in front of me."

By comparison, teaching math may seem a bit mundane. But Golden is upbeat about that as well. "I'll be teaching Calculus II in the spring," he said. "It will be less exciting. But I love being in the classroom and I love sharing these kinds of experiences."

E-mail: hollenhorst@desnews.com