Blueprint Earth was formed by a team of people dedicated to learning as much about our planet as possible. The diversity of our team members mirrors that found in the Earth's different environments, and allows us to connect with a wide array of students, scientists, and members of the public. Everyone at Blueprint Earth firmly believes that science should be accessible to everyone, as it is everywhere in the world around us.
“I think it’s awesome to see correlations with other fields in science. I didn’t understand that as a biologist, I don’t have to go just into medicine and laboratory work. This field work is amazing, and it gave me an opportunity to see different science fields.”
Catalogers
Much of our cataloging work is done by current graduate and undergraduate student volunteer catalogers. Students gain hands-on experience conducting scientific field research under the guidance of scientists in academia, government, and the private sector. Skills used in conducting research with Blueprint Earth include plant and animal identification and sampling, geologic interpretation and mapping, hydrologic sampling and interpretation, and atmospheric sampling. Our catalogers learn to use tools such as handheld GPS units, tablet computers, portable hygro-thermo-anemometers, hand lenses, microscopes, Brunton compasses, rock hammers, data loggers, and a variety of sample collection devices. Opportunities for M.S. or Ph.D projects in our field area are available.
“You really never know about it until you go out and look for it, look at it yourself, and this is what Blueprint Earth allows me to do.”
Supervisory Scientists
Our supervisory scientists hail from academic, industry, and government backgrounds. Their objective is to provide Blueprint Earth's catalogers with expert guidance in their respective disciplines, while also striving to create big-picture connections with team members in other fields. Scientists who are chosen to work with Blueprint Earth are leaders in interdisciplinary thinking and research, and are paving the way for exciting new discoveries that will enhance knowledge of our target environments. We encourage our supervisory scientists to publish academic papers in peer-reviewed journals, apply for grants, and attend scientific conferences to publicize the results of research stemming from Blueprint Earth's field work.