Alan R. Harker has served as the Associate Academic Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies since February of 2011. Previous experience has included assignments as an Associate Dean in the College of Life Sciences and Chair of the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Biology. Prior to coming to BYU in 1994, Dr. Harker held positions as an associate professor in the Department of Microbiology at Oklahoma State University and as a research associate at the Environmental Protection Agency, Corvallis Oregon.
Dr. Harker received his PhD in Biological Sciences from the University of Utah and BS degrees in Biology and Chemistry from the same institution. His research has been focused on environmental microbiology, bioremediation, and microbial ecology. Over the last decade such efforts have described the ecology of microbial communities in the north arm of the Great Salt Lake. Dr. Harker has been funded primarily by the USEPA, USGS, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
Dr. Harker is married to Stephanie Wright Harker. They are the parents of three and grandparents to thirteen.