John E. Carlson earned, from the University of Illinois, an MSc (1978) and a PhD (1983). He is an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Ecosystem Science & Management and the Department of Plant Science, and former Director of the Schatz Center for Tree Molecular Genetics at Pennsylvania State University. His research primarily focuses on the genomic and genetic resources for forest tree species, conservation genetics, and molecular genetics with perennial bioenergy plants. He has 135 publications with 10305 citations and an h-index of 39 (Scopus, 8 December 2023).