David Lubinski

My work for INSTAAR focusses on its main website, collaborating closely with Shelly Sommer (our Communication & Outreach Director). I also run our social media and provide feedback on our communications strategy.  For all this work, I draw on my past experience with website design, user experience, content strategy, and more.

I've been providing website support to INSTAAR and related science communities for over 20 years. My efforts have ranged a bit, including assisting larger science programs (e.g., NSF's Critical Zone Observatories), architecting data sharing platforms (e.g., diatoms.org), helping run conferences (e.g., The annual International Arctic Workshop), and building websites for multiple CU Boulder academic units (e.g., INSTAAR).

Before all the website work, I was a geoscientist.  I mostly studied glacial geology, paleoclimatology, and paleoceanography in the high Russian Arctic (see my Google Scholar profile). Although I loved studying remote landscapes with international colleagues, digging in mud, preparing samples in the lab, plotting data, and arguing about results... I also longed to explore my growing interest in digital design and how it could impact the world of science in a different way.  My past life as a scientist remains relevant and useful to web design, especially when communicating with scientists and helping translate their results to all kinds of audiences.