Last reviewed September 2, 2026
James P. Howard, II is the Count of Krigsvold. He uses the office as a durable platform for climate education, research support, and public advocacy, with Antarctica as its geographic and intellectual point of departure.
The distinction between title and work matters. The title is a dignity within the Grand Duchy of Westarctica and confers no governmental or territorial authority. The work conducted under it—including the annual Fellowship—is public, practical, and open to scrutiny.
Background
James is a data scientist and applied mathematician at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. He holds a doctorate in Public Policy and graduate degrees in Applied and Computational Mathematics, Environmental Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Public Policy, among others.
He is a Chartered Engineer, Chartered Mathematician, and Chartered Scientist, and a Fellow of the British Computer Society and the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications. He teaches across mathematics, statistics, and public affairs and serves as a Captain in the Maryland Defense Force.
That breadth shapes the work of Krigsvold. Climate change is simultaneously a physical process, a problem of measurement, a matter of institutions, and a public-policy choice. The site is written to keep those layers connected without pretending they are interchangeable.
Responsibilities of the office
The Count sets the editorial direction of this site, sponsors the Fellowship, selects its recipient in partnership with Westarctica, and speaks publicly in support of climate and conservation action. He is accountable for the claims published here and for correcting them when they are wrong.
Relationship to Westarctica
The Count holds his dignity within the Grand Duchy of Westarctica. Westarctica is a micronational project and nonprofit organization; it is not a sovereign state. Krigsvold’s work is conducted within that context but published as the independent work of this office.
For Westarctica’s own activities, visit westarctica.info, Encyclopedia Westarctica, or Westarctica’s nonprofit site.