George Durner is a research zoologist with the US Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center polar bear research program.  He entered this position in 1991 and currently works with a team of USGS scientists to identify and describe the mechanisms that drive the response of polar bears to a changing Arctic ecosystem. He has a BS in biology from East Stroudsburg University, an MS in wildlife biology from Frostburg State University, and a PhD in zoology and physiology from the University of Wyoming. His research focus is in polar bear habitat relationships, particularly on how polar bears have and will respond to declines in sea ice. Hence, his research has been reliant on a 29 year history of polar bear location data gained through the Argos Data Collection and Location System. Much of his research results were used to inform the United States Secretary of the Interior’s decision in 2008 to list polar bears as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. George is a member of the IUCN Polar Bear Specialist Group, and serves as a scientific advisor to the Joint Commissions of the Inuvialuit Game Council and the North Slope Borough for polar bear management, the US Fish and Wildlife Service Polar Bear Recovery team, and the Canadian Polar Bear Technical Committee. George has authored or co-authored more than 25 scientific papers on polar bears and other wildlife.