The Provost’s Office is excited to extend a warm welcome to Joel Barker, joining the Environment, Geography, and Earth Sciences department in Fall 2025!
What excites you most about joining Gustavus Adolphus College?
I’m really looking forward to teaching a diverse set of students in a liberal arts setting.
Briefly describe your professional interests.
I’m biogeochemist by training, which is a fancy way of saying that I like to investigate how life interacts with the environment in terms of nutrient production, mobilization and consumption. I typically work in glacier environments were nutrient supply tends to be low, but important to the diverse sets of organisms that survive on glacier meltwater.
What aspects of teaching do you find most rewarding?
I really like interacting with students and helping them learn about topics that I think are important. I feel good if students leave my classroom as more informed adults.
If you could have any superpower (related to your field or otherwise), what would it be and why?
I would like to be known as Captain Efficiency! Sadly, I am not!