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Jack Holt

Professor of Biology

Biology

A smiling man with white hair and a beard wears round glasses, a dark vest, and a white shirt. The background is softly blurred with vertical lines.

Office Location:

Natural Sciences Center – Rm 210A

About Me

Holt is a freshwater ecologist who studies the biology of algae and their roles in aquatic ecosystems. He and his students conduct research on the algal communities of local areas such as Penns Creek and the Susquehanna River, as well as those in Yaroslavl, Russia. He is a member of the Susquehanna River Heartland Coalition for Environmental Studies, also known as “The River Group.” He and his students present their work at regional and national conferences and in journals such as the Journal of Freshwater Ecology and the Journal of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science.

Holt’s teaching includes Systematic Biology, Aquatic Ecology, and Thought and the Natural Sciences for Honors Program students. In addition, he is the director of the Ecology Program.

He is the director of Saturday Science, a hands-on science experience for local elementary students and teachers in training. The program has been funded by Pennsylvania Space Grant since 1993. A collection of essays that he wrote as part of his duties in Saturday Science has been published as Paths of Science, which is now in its second edition. Saturday Science also provides scholarships for students to study with him in Yaroslavl, Russia, for four to five weeks during the summer.

Education

PHD, Univ of Oklahoma

MS, Univ of Oklahoma

BS, Harding University