Bennett Weissenbach

Bennett Weissenbach

Year: 2020-2021
Nominating Institution: Princeton University
Field of Interest: Journalism
Placement Organization: COVID-19 placement NEPAL
Placement Location: Kathmandu, Nepal

About Bennett

Ben Weissenbach is an environmental journalist and writer whose work has appeared in the LA Times, National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, Scientific American, Literary Hub, Washington Post, and other publications. He is now writing a book that recounts his journeys deep into the Alaskan wilderness to uncover his generation’s environmental inheritance. In the summer of 2021, for example, Ben was a member of an NSF-funded research expedition that walked and packrafted 900 miles across Alaska’s Brooks Range to study the effects of climate change on the Arctic landscape. His work deals with both the science of climate change and the effects of digital media on environmental consciousness. As a Luce Scholar, Ben spent six months in South Korea and 2.5 months in Nepal, reporting on COVID-19 and the economic effects of the pandemic. As an undergraduate, he studied English and Environmental Studies at Princeton. A two-time NOLS alumnus, he summited Denali in 2018 via the Muldrow Glacier route. He volunteers as an ocean therapy instructor with the Jimmy Miller Memorial Foundation, teaching at-risk youth and veterans with PTSD to access the healing power of the ocean through surfing. Ben loves running, surfing, and sharing his passion for the outdoors.
Back to Directory