Erin Browne joined Pollenize back in October 2021 as our AI and Machine Learning Data Intern. Her impressive scientific skill set made her the perfect candidate to help us research and gather important environmental intelligence data to help us combat the drivers of pollinator decline. She's also been working very closely with our Co-Founder, Matthew Elmes, to support the development of an artificially intelligent beehive, capable of decoding the honey bee waggle dance and understanding insect behaviour like never before.

Well, it’s about time we put the spotlight on Erin to introduce her formally with a good old-fashioned Q and A session!

You’ve got a 1st class honours degree in Marine Biology and Oceanography, can you tell us a little more about your exciting background in Marine Science?

Absolutely! To-date I have devoted blood, sweat and (many) tears in the pursuit of a career in Marine Science due to its extremely competitive nature. This has led me to scuba diving in many parts of the world; researching and monitoring invertebrates in Fiji; satellite mapping of coral reef resilience in Australia; to testing cutting edge Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools at the depths of the North Atlantic Ocean aboard the Celtic Explorer. Along the way I have participated in many volunteer opportunities, for example being a volunteer scuba diver at the National Marine Aquarium right here in Plymouth! I have also had my first opportunity to present at an international conference on my Research Masters (ResM) work which saw great responses and has opened many avenues to continue researching in this area.

Sea Queen to Bee Queen! What was it about working with Pollenize that interested you?

I was actually contacted via Linkedin by a contributor to the Low Carbon Devon project after posting some video footage of my ResM work. This involved running real-time AI models on a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) live streams at sea. Therefore, it aligned nicely with what Pollenize are pursuing as a company. Yes it is not marine related, but it's just as ecologically relevant in the pursuit of the protection of our natural world. Not just this, the techniques and challenges of the application of AI in this project has major pipeline differences. Additionally, it involves the whole production of the product from beginning to end-user. This intrigued me as it involved acquiring additional skill sets in basic electronics, product development and software management systems (and more), as well as learning how to begin setting-up a company from scratch - something I am interested in looking forward!

Have you worked this closely with honey bees before? What is it like?

NO! I have not. Honestly I was so excited to work with the bees, initially I knew I was a little skittish before with buzzing sounds in my ear - but I just thought of the time I scuba dived with a bull shark and then the fear was reasoned pretty well haha. I almost love the pressure of having to force yourself into a calm nature . What I find helps is understanding the animal and its behaviour, once you do that not too much can go wrong. The first time Matt and Owen took me out to the hives around Plymouth I was bombarded with bee ecology and enthusiasm which made working with the bees a much more involved experience. 

Tell us a little bit about what you’re currently working on and why is it important?

Within Pollenize I am currently working on the production of an AI beehive and next year will start the production of an AI moth-trap. What is the AI bee-hive and why is it important? There are really two aspects: the science and the community engagement side to the hive. Obviously the livestream helps with our engagement and transparency with the local community and businesses, but I will stick to the science (as that's what I am here for haha). On the hive itself we are integrating accelerometers, strain gauges and two AI-cameras in order to collate information on brood cycles, hive honey production, counting colonies and foraging locations. Whilst the moth-traps will collate data on the diversity and richness of macro moth species using AI recognition algorithms integrated in the camera systems. In addition we will be using specialised hardware to record the presence of bat species in these traps due to bats being a natural predator of moths. Through the production and deployment of these hives and traps networked across Devon and Cornwall we will gain a better understanding on key aspects to pollinator’s success as well as the indicators leading to potential decline in which we can educate local communities and businesses on. This is part of a bigger picture, in that pollinator decline has tremendous implications in biodiversity loss, food production and security, therefore preservation of these species are key for human civilisation.

As an inspiring woman in STEM, who has acted as an inspiration or role model to you?

Well many people have inspired me along the way, but I guess the spark for Marine Science - in which everything in my career STEM related follows, is my mum. She's always dreamed of being a Marine Biologist but unfortunately it was even harder to pursue those kinds of careers when she was growing up. Thank God we have moved forward somewhat. My grandmother was and my dad is an engineer, both whom I am very close with so I guess STEM subjects were always in my blood.

Describe your your role for Pollenize in 3 words…

Analyst, Advocate, Environmentalist

What is your biggest achievement to date – personal or professional?

Honestly my biggest achievement to date is not giving up on what I believe I should be doing. Whilst I have won awards, scholarships and partaken in cruises etc. I believe that pursuing relentlessly at something you believe in (particularly anything climate related - I am biased) is the ultimate achievement and I hope to continue to find the opportunities that allow me to do so.

As well the work you are doing for Pollenize, you are currently undertaking a Research Master’s in Marine Science. What have you got in store for the future?

Simple answer - I have no specific answer. There are a multitude of things I would like to do however nothing is set in stone. In terms of Pollenize I will be staying with them until I have to leave England in June next year (2022). In terms of getting back to some marine work I may be partaking in another internship role at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) in California next year after my current internship ends. This will be a continuation of my ResM  research into the performance of AI algorithms for deep sea pelagic and benthic image recognition. Further in the future I plan on completing my PhD and living off-grid potentially in mainland Europe, Canada or New Zealand. Interdisciplinary work between computer science and ecologists is a rapidly growing field, thus I have great enthusiasm that I will find something that works. 

We’re incredibly fortunate to be working with people like Erin who are committed to pushing the boundaries of science in order to improve the outlook for our poorly planet! By becoming a Patron of Pollenize you can support our scientific research and help us to turn our pioneering conservation plans into real action… Find out more