Bjorn Grigholm
External Associate, Climate Change Institute
Education:
University of Maine, Orono, ME – May 2016
Ph.D. Earth and Climate Sciences
Dissertation: Late Holocene Asian Climate and Environmental Variability Derived from an Asian Ice Core Array
Advisor: Dr. Paul A. Mayewski
University of Maine, Orono, ME – December 2007
M.S. Quaternary and Climate Studies
Thesis: Climate Investigations Using Glaciochemical Records from a Tibetan Ice Core and a Fresh Snow
Reconnaissance Study from Tierra del Fuego
Advisor: Dr. Paul A. Mayewski
University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT – December 2001
B.S. Geology and Geophysics
Advisor: Dr. Anthony R. Philpotts
University of Otago, Dunedin, NZ – Spring 2001
Butler University Study Abroad Program
Current Research:
I am an External Associate to the Climate Change Institute, the Owner and Creative Director of
my own small business Visual Solutions Lab, and the Platform and Educational Developer at the
World Ocean Observatory (W2O). My current focus is to advance science literacy by presenting
complex materials in an approachable way. I aim to accomplish this through educational
outreach and creative methods of knowledge transfer. Frequently this takes the shape of
multimedia content creation (educational gaming environments, interactive data visualizations,
web and mobile app design, photo and video production, animation, simulations, virtual reality,
etc…).
my own small business Visual Solutions Lab, and the Platform and Educational Developer at the
World Ocean Observatory (W2O). My current focus is to advance science literacy by presenting
complex materials in an approachable way. I aim to accomplish this through educational
outreach and creative methods of knowledge transfer. Frequently this takes the shape of
multimedia content creation (educational gaming environments, interactive data visualizations,
web and mobile app design, photo and video production, animation, simulations, virtual reality,
etc…).
My research interests are Abrupt Climate Change, Glaciochemistry, Atmospheric Circulation,
Atmospheric Dust Concentrations, Anthropogenic Pollutants, Climate Forcing Mechanisms,
Climate Modeling, Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Policy, Data Visualization,
Immersive Educational Technologies, and Traditional and Multimedia Educational Outreach. I
completed both my Masters and PhD programs under the guidance of Dr. Paul A. Mayewski.
During my graduate studies I had the opportunity to participate in 12 international research
expeditions, 2 of which I co–lead. In addition to field work in Asia, I also worked in Chile Peru,
Sweden and the South Georgia Islands. I am experienced in all stages of ice core collection,
processing and analysis. I authored and co–authored 20 subsequent peer–reviewed scientific
publications.
My formal teaching experience has involved both course design and lecturing. I have co–
taught/codeveloped courses on the natural and human dynamics of abrupt climate change and
guest lectured on a wide range of climate topics including: climate variability, climate data and
modeling, coastal vulnerability/adaptation, and incorporating climate data and visualization into
secondary education lesson plans. I have also mentored and advised undergraduate and graduate
students on research projects and designed and taught a climate science workshop for science
teachers incorporating the CCI’s Climate Reanalyzer, a website visualizing climate and weather
datasets.
My passion for educational outreach began during my time as a UMaine graduate student when I
was creating materials directly for CCI. These include the Ice Core Perspective’s website and
several short documentary videos about CCI expeditions and research. Also during my time as a
National Science Foundation Adaptation to Abrupt Climate Change–Integrative Graduate
Education and Research Traineeship (NSF A2C2–IGERT) fellow, I created and developed
multimedia materials (e.g. data visualizations and animations) to accompany the Union of
Concerned Scientists (UCS) national public outreach campaign.
Having started my own business, Visual Solutions Lab, I have continued my mission to advance
science literacy, most recently through my role at W20. Working with Schmidt Ocean Institute,
as the Chief Developer, I designed and developed an immersive, interactive educational gaming
tool, World Ocean Explorer, which is based on Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and
Ocean Literacy Standards. This interactive online platform utilizes high–resolution video from
scientific research expeditions, 3–D models, and educational descriptive materials of newly
discovered and extinct deep–sea ocean species and allows a global audience an experience that
would be impossible to observe in a traditional aquarium settings.
I am part of a team of Climate Change Institute colleagues dedicated to collaborating together to
strengthen climate education by providing educators with a variety of informative materials in one
place. We worked together to create the Climate Education Resources webpage which focuses on
making research based accurate, engaging information accessible to classroom teachers. It is
presented by category with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and suggested student
grade levels. I am currently exploring additional ways to bring interactive educational tools to CCI.
