Adam Reitzel is a marine biologist and self-described "nerd for invertebrates." His research focuses on understanding how marine organisms respond to their changing environment. This holds the potential to unlock clues about how species may be affected by ongoing climate change. His work is published in more than 70 papers and book chapters, impressive given his career as a professor began just six years ago.
Additionally, he’s garnering praise for the way he is changing fundamentally how science is taught in schools, community colleges, universities and community settings—with an emphasis on collaboration.
He collaborates with other researchers who comprise the Reitzel Lab, which is currently supported by more than $1.3 million in funding from the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and a Young Investigators’ Grant from the Human Frontier Science Program—one of only seven awarded worldwide in 2016. The researchers collectively seek a better understanding of how animals can respond to rapid changes in their environment, especially when these changes may be happening too swiftly for genetic adaptation to occur.