BEAM

BEAM is a research studio for the climate transition. Founded by Annie Chen and Zoe Lee, BEAM addresses the climate crisis as both a planetary emergency and a cultural inflection point—requiring new and emergent forms of connective tissue between science, technology, ecology, and society. To this end, BEAM partners with climate tech innovators, scientists, policymakers, and local communities to co-create enduring sociotechnical solutions—rooted in place, shaped by relational knowledge, and sustained through shared stewardship—to reorient the actors and innovations driving the climate transition toward just and regenerative futures. Through field research, participatory co-creation, network mapping, and multimedia storytelling, they work across timescales—from present-day intervention to speculative futuring–to reimagine how climate solutions are conceived, governed, and shared. Drawing from their backgrounds in biology, behavioral decision sciences, and design, the duo brings interdisciplinary fluency and sociotechnical expertise to collaborations that span ocean restoration, biotechnology, astrobiology, and climate governance. Their ultimate mission: to cultivate the conditions for science and society to move forward together. BEAM’s work has been supported by NASA, NOAA, MIT Media Lab, MIT Open Documentary Lab, SeaAhead VC, the Andy Warhol Foundation, and more. BEAM is part of the Year 11 Cohort of NEW INC.