Ecologist
Dr. Rich Blundell is an ecologist whose work explores the convergence of science, art, nature and culture. As the founder of Oika, his research examines how transformation happens across the scales of person, place and planet. As a communicator, Rich tells a scientific story of the universe that includes art and human creativity as natural phenomena. His goal is to make the continuity of nature palpable. Dr. Blundell has received numerous grants and awards including, an ongoing TIDES innovators award, The National Science Foundation grant for Science Out There, the Michael Brinkman Award, The Deep Time Values video award for An Earth Story, The Macquarie University Innovation in Scholarship award for The Cosmosis1 Explorer app, an Oculus Creators Award for In the Light of the Forest VR, and nomination for the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival Best New Media for Saving Grey’s Zebra. Blundell’s creative video work has appeared on PBS, National Geographic and numerous social media platforms. He is currently the Scientist in Residence at the Maria Mitchell Association on Nantucket Island.