Mack Baysinger

She/They

I am queer and I am a geoscientist.//

I have recently defended my PhD in geosciences from the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (hosted by the University of Potsdam).

My research explores how carbon and nutrients are cycled in wetland soils. In my PhD thesis, I focused on high-latitude (boreal and arctic) wetlands underlain by permafrost. Ask me about soil carbon, and the many mysteries of Sphagnum moss!

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I came out as a lesbian when I was an undergraduate researcher, later figuring ‘bi’ was a better label in graduate school.

I now identify as non-binary, and queer – it took many (many!) horrible haircuts and style choices to find a way to express this to the outside world.

The natural world largely isn’t able to be described in rigid categories, and neither can the researchers who study it. As an academically-trained scientist, I feel privileged to be able to work in a profession that approaches unknowns with curiosity.

You can find me on Bluesky @mack-baysinger.bsky.social