Draft:Bing Lin



Bing Lin is a conservation scientist, visual storyteller, and science communicator.

Lin was born in Bandung, Indonesia, and grew up in a Taiwanese household. He went to Bandung Independent School from pre-school 1 to grade 12. Lin attended Princeton University for college, where he majored in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and obtained a certificate in Environmental Studies. Lin played men's varsity soccer during his undergraduate years.

Lin did a year-long Princeton in Asia fellowship in Bangsak, Thailand from 2016 to 2017, where he taught English to students aged 6 to 20 at Rajaprajanugroh 35th, a boarding school under the Royal Patronage. He then spent a year in the Ethiopian highlands conducting primate behavioral research for the Guassa Gelada Research Project. Prior to graduate school, Lin hiked over 2,000 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail in 2019.

He returned to Princeton in 2019 to pursue a Ph.D. in Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy in the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, where he is currently a fifth-year doctoral candidate.

Lin's scientific research broadly focuses on the socio-ecological dimensions of coral reefs and their conservation. His research was the first to document the regional-scale impacts of coastal tourism on coral reefs across the main Hawaiian islands. This research was subsequently cited as justification in the passing of the Ocean Stewardship User Fee in Hawaii, which requires a $1.00 USD fee from each ocean-going customer or passenger to be used for conservation starting on January 1st, 2024.

Lin's research on the wildlife trade was also among the first to academically define the term "wet markets" as marketplaces selling consumption-oriented, perishable goods (i.e., fresh meats and produce), in a non-supermarket setting. This research encourages policymakers and the public to not conflate all wet markets with wildlife markets or live-animal markets.

Lin is also an Emerging League member of the International League of Conservation Photographers. His award-winning photos and writing have appeared in National Geographic, BBC Wildlife, BBC News, Scientific American, Princeton Alumni Weekly, Scuba Diving, Nature, The Nature Conservancy, and other outlets. He has also given various talks about his research and photography in various public seminars, podcasts, and workshops.