Anna Blaustein (adblau@mit.edu)

Anna Blaustein discovered her passion for science writing while harvesting mussels before dawn for a writing assignment at Bowdoin College. Equipped with a notebook, a pen, and foul weather gear, she realized science writing combined her interests in storytelling, science, and adventure. Her coursework has taken her from the Bay of Fundy to Baja, California. She’s analyzed water samples from Icelandic fjords and studied plant physiology in the American Southwest. At the Arnold Arboretum, she studied how climate change affects grain quality—research which became her honors thesis. Most recently, she’s been communicating public health information as a Massachusetts Contact Tracer. Anna seeks stories about the intersections of science and society, and her work reveals how research and data relate to the human experience. She hopes to use storytelling to bridge the divide between science and public understanding and to help people connect with each other and the world we share.