Hannah Seo
Contributor, Science
Hannah Seo is a science contributor at Popular Science. She started as an intern in 2020 and has since regularly contributed to both Popular Science’s website and quarterly magazine. Hannah’s reporting has covered everything from COVID-19 to rare archeological finds, and they’re always down to talk about quirky marine creatures or the mysteries of neuropsychology. Though she is Canadian, Hannah is currently based in Brooklyn, New York.
Highlights
- Reporter, editor, and podcast writer interested in all areas of science, but especially health, neuroscience, oceanography, and the intersection of science and culture
- Graduate of NYU’s Science, Health, and Environmental Reporting Program
- Work appears in Scientific American, WIRED, The Atlantic, Discover Magazine, and Atlas Obscura, among others
Experience
Hannah has been a freelance science journalist for just over a year. In that time their work has appeared in major publications such as Wired, Scientific American, The Atlantic, Discover Magazine, and Atlas Obscura, among others. She has written about everything from Indigenous harvest rights, deep ocean migration, and the necessities of small talk for our social well being. Hannah is also a part-time assistant editor for Environmental Health News, a non-profit newsroom dedicated to covering topics such as toxics, pollution, and environmental justice. She also assists with EHN’s affiliated program Agents of Change, which aims to amplify the voices of researchers working on issues related to environmental justice. She has also worked as a podcast script writer, crafting stories for podcasts like 20 Thousand Hertz and Wondery’s American Innovations. She has been invited on podcasts like The Big Story, and to corporate town hall events to speak about her work.
Education
Hannah graduated from McGill University in Montreal, Canada with a bachelor’s degree, double majoring in cell biology and English literature. She later got a master’s degree from NYU, graduating from their science, health, and environmental reporting program.
Favorite weird science fact
We know that cephalopods have amazing shape-shifting and color-changing abilities, but cuttlefish can manipulate cells on their skin to change the way light polarizes—potentially into variations of patterns that we can’t even see with our human eyes.
Notable Work
- The ups and downs of a great vertical migration Knowable
- Blah Blah Blah: The Lack of Small Talk Is Breaking Our Brains The Walrus
- All Coral Cells Grown in a Dish for the First Time Scientific American
- Does Making Predictions Impede the Formation of Memories? Catapult
- The Colorful, Costly World of Custom Keyboard Enthusiasts Wired
- Portfolio Hannah Seo