Lisa Becking will be joining Guido Camps and Vincent Oostvogels in writing columns for Resource. You can read her first one here. Let’s introduce Lisa…
Becking is a tropical marine biologist at Marine Animal Ecology (ASG) and Wageningen Marine Research. She is also on the board of the Young Academy (at KNAW). She does a lot of work in Indonesia and the Dutch Caribbean, researching how marine life such as coral adapts in an environment affected by climate change. ‘I haven’t travelled since March,’ says Becking. ‘Covid-19 has forced us to find alternatives. Clearly, we academics could fly less.’
In her Resource columns, she shares the experiences of a ‘mid-career’ academic (her own words) on tenure track. She writes with humour and a hint of activism, looking at things from a Wageningen angle and linking them to broader issues. ‘I’m critical but I also want to show the funny side and the beauty of things so that people read my pieces with a smile.’
I’m critical, but I also want to show the funny side and the beauty of things
Becking has considerable writing experience, including as a columnist for the Dutch daily, de Volkskrant. She was also a founder of The Wageningen Young Academy’s book club ‘On the same page’. In her spare time she enjoys reading and photography. And once the coronavirus restrictions are over, she looks forward to going to an art exhibition or a concert. For now, she enjoys the street art in Amsterdam, where she lives. ‘I’m still discovering new places.’