Brian Beck, PhD
Coral Reef Ecologist
Bio
Brian Beck worked as a Coral Reef Ecologist for the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation (LOF) to support the research and analysis during the Global Reef Expedition. Before working for LOF, Brian received his B.S. in geology from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln in 2002. His M.S. in geoscience from the University of Iowa (2005) focused on coral paleontology and examined changes in coral skeleton morphology over long periods of time in the Dominican Republic. He received his Ph.D. in marine studies from the University of Queensland in 2011. His Ph.D. thesis focused on the ecology of reef communities in the South Pacific, specifically looking at the impacts of cyclone frequency, changes over time, and reef accretion. A majority of Brian’s field work was in the Solomon Islands directly following the tsunami in April 2007, which allowed for unprecedented cataloguing of modern reefs which were uplifted 3 meters out of the water due to the earthquake.
Brian has over 8 years of experience teaching lab and field-based science at the university level in both the US and Australia. He most recently taught undergraduate courses in field marine ecology and methods. Brian has also focused on communicating his work in marine ecology to broader audiences whenever possible, giving public talks at museums, schools and for radio shows in Australia.
