Elsa Youngsteadt is a science writer based in Durham, North Carolina. Her work has appeared in Science, PRI’s The World, and other publications. She has written about topics from composting with worms to simulating space junk with giant gas guns.
She currently freelances and works at Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society, where she manages a research ethics program and is an associate editor at American Scientist magazine. She has also completed a AAAS Mass Media Fellowship at WOSU public radio in Columbus, Ohio, and a news internship at Science magazine.
Elsa completed a Ph.D. in entomology at North Carolina State University in 2008; her research focused on chemical communication between ants and seeds in Neotropical ant gardens. There’s more about this and related projects on the research page.
Elsa maintains an active interest in tropical ecology and conservation. She is also excited about sustainable agriculture, running, rock-climbing, and motorcycles, and volunteers as an English tutor for the Durham Literacy Center.
