Matthew P. Hare

Matthew P. Hare is an Associate Professor in the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment at Cornell University, and Director of the Environment and Sustainability program within the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. He holds affiliations with the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability and the Cornell Center for Computational and Population Genomics. Hare earned his BA in Human Ecology from College of the Atlantic, MS in Zoology from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and PhD in Genetics from the University of Georgia.

His research focuses on conservation genetics, evolutionary genomics, and phylogeography, with applications to aquatic systems. Key areas include measuring gene flow, hybridization, and genetic impacts of hatchery supplementation, as well as investigating adaptive processes in marine and freshwater species. Hare’s lab has explored oyster restoration in urban estuaries, domestication effects on bivalves, and the genetic resilience of populations under environmental change.

Teaching responsibilities include NTRES 2830 (DNA, Genes and Genetic Diversity) and NTRES 4100 (Advanced Conservation Biology). He actively recruits graduate students through the Natural Resources, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, and Zoology & Wildlife Conservation fields. Recent collaborative projects include oyster filtration models funded by NY Sea Grant and NSF-supported studies on balanced polymorphisms in oysters.

Hare’s leadership roles include curriculum development for the cross-college Environment & Sustainability major, emphasizing interdisciplinary education and experiential learning. His work bridges basic and applied science, with publications addressing both ecological theory and management challenges in fisheries and restoration ecology.