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Dr. JoAnn Burkholder is a William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and the Director of the Center for Applied Aquatic Ecology at North Carolina State University. She received a B.Sc. in zoology from Iowa State University, a M.Sc. in aquatic botany from the University of Rhode Island, and a Ph.D. in botanical limnology from Michigan State University. She has authored or co-authored 180 peer-reviewed publications. Her research emphasizes human alterations of aquatic
ecosystems, especially assessment of the influences of land use changes on nutrient loading, the ecology and impacts of harmful algal blooms, and the effects of cultural eutrophication on aquatic ecosystems.
Dr. Burkholder is a member of professional societies such as the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). She has been invited to testify before the U.S. House and Senate as an expert on water quality and impacts from harmful algal blooms. She has held Governor-appointed policy positions on the NC Coastal Futures Committee, and on the NC Marine Fisheries Commission where she served as Chair of the Habitat and Water Quality Committee. She also served as science advisor on a governor-appointed environmental commission in Maryland, and received an Admiral of the Chesapeake Award for her assistance. Dr. Burkholder has received numerous other awards such as the Distinguished Service in Environmental Education Award from the Environmental Educators of NC, the Borlaug Award for Service to the Environment and Society, the J. Compton Lifetime Achievement Award for leadership in river conservation from River Network, and the AAAS Scientific Freedom and Responsibility Award.
My research is primarily in three areas: • Chronic effects of nutrient pollution (eutrophication) and other chemical environmental contaminants on aquatic primary producers (algae, angiosperms); • the ecology and impacts of harmful algae in freshwater, estuarine, and marine habitats; and • Influences of long-term changes in watershed land use on aquatic ecosystems.