Jonathan Stetler

Dr. Jonathan Stetler is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Biological Sciences at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. His work focuses on freshwater aquatic ecology and limnology, particularly the impacts of environmental changes such as climate change, brownification, and road salt application on freshwater ecosystems. He integrates data-intensive methods, including field studies, high-frequency environmental sensors, and ecosystem modeling, into both research and teaching.

• Ph.D., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (2021) - Biology
• B.S., Paul Smith's College (2017) - Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences

Dr. Stetler’s research examines how anthropogenic stressors alter freshwater quality. He leads regional collaborations in the Northeastern U.S. to assess climate change effects and maintains partnerships with organizations like the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies and the Ausable River Association for outreach initiatives. His projects include water quality monitoring at Grafton Lakes State Park and deploying sensor networks in Mirror Lake.

Dr. Stetler has published extensively on lake deoxygenation, stratification changes, and brownification, with recent work in Nature, Global Change Biology, and Limnology and Oceanography. His studies often involve computational data analysis and fieldwork, emphasizing large dataset utilization.

• Rensselaer School of Science Outstanding Teaching Award (2025)
• Rensselaer Innovative Pedagogy Fellowship For Faculty (2024)

In teaching, Dr. Stetler promotes real-world data integration. He developed pedagogical modules for Project Eddie and uses DataCamp to teach R programming in courses like Biostatistics (BIOL 4200) and Introduction to Biology Computational Laboratory (BIOL 1016). He also leads fieldwork in BIOL 2961, guiding students in data collection and publication via repositories.