Kelly Herbinson
Masters Candidate in Fine Arts in Nonfiction Writing
Graduate Assistant
scienceposse@uwyo.edu

I am a non-fiction writing student focused on the creative communication of scientific concepts.  My writing aims to bridge the gap between science and the arts by telling the stories of scientists and their research in creative and innovative ways that reinvent our ideas of who can become a scientist and how scientific research works.  I hope to decode the tough language of the sciences and reveal the excitement and mystery inherent within scientific concepts.

I am a scientist by training, with a BS in Ecology, Behavior and Evolution and an MS in Ecology and Systematics.  My Master's research investigated the rare occurrence of cooperative nesting among queens of the California Seed-Harvesting Ant, Pogonomyrmex californicus.  Queens of this species typically build nests solitarily, although queens of one small population in southern California sometimes build nests in groups.  I examined differences in climate between the two behavioral regions to test whether harsh climate conditions may contribute to the evolution of queen cooperation.

I worked previously as a science educator at the California Academy of Sciences, where I developed classroom activities that teach scientific concepts through the lens of sustainability.  In addition I managed a citizen science project called the Bay Area Ant Survey, a collaborative effort between Academy scientists and citizens of the San Francisco Bay Area designed to catalogue local ant species and to document the spread of the invasive Argentine Ant.