Jackson Watkins

Education: BAS (2017) Microbiology and Philosophy, Colorado State University; MS (2021) Microbiology, Immunology, Pathology Colorado State University; MS (2024) Earth and Planetary Sciences Northwestern University
 

I'm an environmental scientist, artist, and lecturer at SAIC. My background is largely in microbiology, studying bacteria, fungi, and viruses that live in both human ecosystems (such as the lung or skin) as well as natural systems (such as lakes, oceans, and even aquifers in the subsurface). My courses at SAIC focus on environmental disasters, and how they relate to human activity as well as their context in Earth's history.

As an ecologist and microbiologist, my work has focused on understanding how microscopic ecosystems react to changes in the environment. Changes to climate affect all life on Earth, including organisms that we cannot see with the naked eye. Bacteria, fungi, and viruses all play important roles in our planet's ecosystems. We still have minimal understanding of the expanse of microscopic life on Earth, but predict that they have a significant influence in shaping the health of our soils, rivers, oceans, and many other culturally important ecosystems. Thus it is important to understand how they have, and will continue to respond to anthropogenic climate change.

I'm also a musician and furniture maker in the Chicago area. I hope to teach students the ways in which art is utilized to communicate the interests of community, and connect people to ideas that influence our ways of living. As the planet continues to change in response to human activity, artists play a crucial role in communicating what this means to us as community members, but also as individuals who are often doing our best to survive in response to the things around us.