Bruce W Fouke

Bruce W. Fouke is the Ralph E. Grim Professor in Earth Science & Environmental Change at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, serving as Director of the Illinois Roy J. Carver Biotechnology Center. He holds adjunct roles at Montana State University's Thermal Biology Institute and the Caribbean Research and Management of Biodiversity Laboratory. His research spans geobiology, astrobiology, and GeoBioMed, with focuses on subsurface biosphere dynamics, microbial evolution, coral reef ecosystems, and human calcification diseases. He has held professorships at Lund University and the Illinois Center for Advanced Studies, and serves on NSF, DOE, and NASA science panels.

Education: B.Sc. (Bradley University), M.Sc. (University of Iowa & University of Chicago), Ph.D. (Stony Brook University), with postdocs at Free University Amsterdam, UC Berkeley, and NASA Ames Research Center.

Research interests include microbial responses to environmental gradients, coral reef health under climate change, and biomineralization processes in human diseases like kidney stones and cardiovascular calcification. His work integrates geology, microbiology, and medicine, with applications to energy, environmental sustainability, and space exploration.

Key achievements include the AAPG Roy M. Huffington Distinguished Lecturer title (Asia-Pacific Region), National Geographic/NPR recognition, and leadership roles in interdisciplinary centers like the Institute for Genomic Biology and European Union Center. His research has advanced understanding of ancient Roman aqueduct hydraulics, Yellowstone hot spring microbiology, and subsurface microbial-driven diagenesis.

Teaching includes undergraduate courses on geobiology and Earth history, and graduate courses on sedimentology and field geology. He leads the Fouke Lab, mentoring the next generation of geobiologists through MOOCs and multimedia outreach.