“This has been a demonstration of the best of 3M. We believe that and we demonstrate it every day,” Jon said. “At 3M we talk about bringing science to life. Jon also appreciated the time 3M gives its employees to work on personal projects. If we can make something stick to a polar bear, it can stick to just about anything,” he noted. To be able to work on a project with his son has been a great opportunity, Jon said, noting they talk almost every day. “I really learned design skills and problem-solving skills.” “I enjoyed my years at UW-Stout,” he noted. It was his first and only job after graduating from UW-Stout with a degree in industrial design. “As the Arctic continues to warm and sea ice melts, creative and innovative advances in research methods and technology are critical to furthering conservation efforts - for polar bears and wildlife around the globe,” she stated in a 3M news release. said the prototype trackers are a significant moment for research and conservation. Krista Wright, executive director of Polar Bears International.
They find seals for food, mate and raise their young.” This is where polar bears make their living. “It’s frozen but the ice is moving, and water opens and closes. “Polar bears spend most of their life out of view on sea ice that is incredibly dangerous for people to be on,” BJ said. Researchers study bears’ behavior in the Arctic to better understand their movement patterns and habitat use while collecting other data on habitat, changing sea ice conditions and population boundaries. Polar Bears International used that opportunity to apply transmitters to five bears before they were released. The town conservation officers respond in trucks when the predators pass through, and occasionally a bear is tranquilized and held until it can be relocated.
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Jon had to be able to train conservation officers virtually how to attach the trackers.Įvery year polar bears wander into the town of Churchill, on Hudson Bay. We are proud to help support Polar Bears International's work."ĬOVID-19 complicated things because of social distancing. This challenge exemplifies the collaborative spirit, science and creativity that drives innovation at 3M. You need to put them on a bear and see where they are at with them. Jon suspects some designs might prove to withstand the life of a polar bear better than others. “You’ve got an 800- to 1,800-pound animal rolling around on your transmitter.” “Polar bears will walk through anything,” BJ said. To view a video on the polar bear project, go to Burr on Fur. One idea called the “burr on fur” approach allows the device to latch onto and stick to a bear’s fur with a brush that entangles the fur. Tags also have to withstand bears rolling in the snow and other activity. All needed to be able to withstand extreme cold, snow and saltwater. Some of the concepts utilized existing 3M technologies and some ideas are completely new. The prototypes range from mechanical solutions to adhesive ones and others with a little bit of everything, Jon said. The transmitter will fall off when the bears naturally molt in the summer The tags are nontoxic, temporary and attach only to the bear’s fur. In December, the nearly two-year project moved out of the lab and into the Arctic when testing began on four prototype tags in western Hudson Bay in the far north of Manitoba, Canada. Tech Forum met with polar bear experts, developed ideas and created crude prototypes. The group created a workshop called Tag a Bear Challenge and met for two days to brainstorm a better way to attach a tracking tag. It became a catalyst for me to engage other researchers in the project.”ģM has an organization called Tech Forum, a gathering of technology special interest groups where ideas and findings can be exchanged, Jon said. “I walked it out into the hallway and unfurled it on the floor and invited people to come see it,” said Jon, who retired from 3M at the end of December. “It was time for tech to move along.”īJ sent a polar bear pelt to his father at 3M headquarters in St.
“My colleague Geoff York came up with the idea of making a tag stick,” BJ said.
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