Early Career Achievement

Stephen Jacquemin

“The rivers flow not past, but through us. Thrilling, tingling, vibrating every fiber and cell of the substance of our bodies, making them glide and sing,” said John Muir, poet, naturalist, and conservationist founder of the Sierra Club.

Stephen James Jacquemin, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Biology at Lake Campus, has always been moved by water and nature. An aquatic ecologist and evolutionary biologist, Jacquemin is equally passionate about studying the environment, particularly aspects related to fish ecology and evolution, as he is about teaching students to appreciate these aquatic ecosystems.

New to Wright State’s Lake Campus in 2013, Jacquemin “has been a successful, productive and engaging faculty member right from the start,” said Bonnie Mathies, Ph.D., retired dean of the Lake Campus. “He has distinguished himself as one of the Lake Campus’ best teachers and has become known in the community as the ‘Fish Guy’ who draws an audience whenever he speaks.”

His research is interdisciplinary and broadly applicable to better understanding freshwater biotic-abiotic ecological interactions at local and macro-ecological scales.

Jacquemin studies North American freshwater fish, gastropods and crayfish. He’s specifically interested in long-term changes in aquatic communities associated with environmental degradation.

As a teacher, he involves students in his work and writing. He is seen as a mentor and role model to these future scientists.

“He views teaching as a rewarding experience and an opportunity to share knowledge and promote scientific study in future generations of scientists,” said Charles N. Ciampaglio, Ph.D., professor of Earth and environmental sciences.

Jacquemin has taught six different courses, directed independent studies, assisted in the development of a new degree and created an upper-level fish biology and ecology course.

He continually receives positive student evaluations, and in 2014, students nominated him for an award for Excellence in Teaching the Wright State Core.

He has published over 25 articles in peer-reviewed journals, numerous literature reports and over 50 abstracts. He currently has several additional papers in review.

Jacquemin has made an impact in service to the university and community as well. Inside the university, he has served on several college and university committees, acted as Lake Campus Faculty Senate secretary, guides students as an advisor to the Natural Science Society, and serves as curator for the neontological plant, invertebrate and vertebrate collections at Lake Campus’ Biological Museum. Outside the university, he serves as a reviewer for a series of ecological journals, volunteers for local educational outreach events, and serves as chair of the River and Streams Technical Committee for the Indiana American Fisheries Society.