Gabrielle Beans

Gabrielle is a molecular ecologist turned science communicator. She manages IceLab’s communications and helps coordinate IceLab initiatives like the interdisciplinary Lunch Pitches and the Multidisciplinary Postdoctoral Program. She teaches science communication to doctoral and postdoctoral students at Umeå University. Additionally, she works at the Curiosum science center coordinating and developing the content of the center’s public activities, along with other research communication and exhibit development tasks.

She is half Spanish, half American, and has degrees from Spain, Wales and New Zealand. During her PhD she studied the population genetics of ancient and modern Adélie penguin populations. After her PhD, she decided to direct her efforts towards delivering science more directly to the world, through environmental, educational, outreach and other communication programs. She worked at the Santa Fe Institute for several years, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, managing the Complexity Explorer platform of online complex systems science educational resources.  During that time, she pioneered new initiatives and solidified the platform’s niche, highly-ranked standing.

Gabrielle moved to Umeå in 2018 and began working with IceLab to head communication efforts for the research environment and help guide IceLab to new ventures. She is interested in motivating other scientists to communicate directly with the world and acts as a facilitator for this.  In September 2019, Gabrielle took on a two year assignment as Deputy Director of Umeå’s new science centre, Curiosum, after which she continues as a member of the scientific strategy group and content coordinator and developer.  She has also been involved in the the Arenas for Cooperation through Citizen Science (ARCS) project, and is an instructor on the Umeå University Doctoral Course Communicating Scientific Research.

Gabrielle likes light, color and contrast, so she’s naturally drawn to photography.  She loves to find simple, arresting compositions.  One of her favorite images is of a seahorse in Bali, floating above a sandy bottom.  She’s also an avid scuba diver, hiker, and general outdoors and travel enthusiast.  She’s happiest when walking in the forest with her family, which includes 2 small humans, herself and one other grown-up human, and a short haired brindle coated dog called Nina.