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The world faces an emerging and worsening crisis around pollinators (Aizen, 2009; Potts et al.2010; UNEP, 2010; US Pollinator Report, 2015). Due to colony collapse disorder, invasive mites(varroa destructor), use of pesticides, and the rise of monoculture farming, honey bees are dyingat unprecedented rates. The beekeeping workforce is facing a crisis. Traditional approaches tobeekeeping have been unable to stem the tide of colony collapse. The results are devastating interms of food security since bees pollinate one in every three bites of food that humans consume.The decline in pollinators also threatens economic stability. U.S. honey production since 1987has declined 78 million pounds (United States Department of Agriculture, 2019) and costs ofcrop pollination have increased dramatically. The future of work for beekeeping will involvemastering research-driven practices (Kulhanek et al, 2021) that respond to bee health in differentlandscapes (Patel et al., 2020), and that deploy sensors to monitor bee hive health and behavior(Catania & Vallone, 2020; Cecchi et al. 2020). This project will involve a multidisciplinary approach to upskill and transform beekeeping, withspecial attention to the education pipeline, which is necessary to prepare students for transformedcareers (Johannsen et al. 2021; Catania & Vallone, 2020). This project is a joint effort betweenthe George Mason University (GMU) College of Education and Human Development (CEHD),the GMU School of Business (which houses the George Mason University Honey Bee Initiative),and experts on beekeeping and data science. Technically, the project will (a) deploy sensors inhives to generate data colony health as monitored by measurement, such as temperature, acousticactivity, weight,…
