Thomas Peter Bennett

Thomas Peter Bennett is a Florida native on perpetual sabbatical as an independent scholar and poet. A former professor and natural history museum executive, he is the author of scientific articles and books, as well as poems and collections on topics featured in The Applause of Science. After graduating from Florida State University (FSU) with a bachelor's degree in chemistry, Bennett earned his PhD in biochemistry from Rockefeller University and became an assistant professor at Harvard...See more

Thomas Peter Bennett is a Florida native on perpetual sabbatical as an independent scholar and poet. A former professor and natural history museum executive, he is the author of scientific articles and books, as well as poems and collections on topics featured in The Applause of Science. After graduating from Florida State University (FSU) with a bachelor's degree in chemistry, Bennett earned his PhD in biochemistry from Rockefeller University and became an assistant professor at Harvard University. He returned to FSU as a professor and chair of biological sciences and later served as special assistant to the president and as acting executive vice president. He began his museum work as the president of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, now of Drexel University. He then became a dean, professor, and the director of the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida. He became the executive director of the South Florida Museum and retired as emeritus director. Bennett's poetry pursuits in his youth were linked to the exploration of Florida's woods, swamps, springs, lakes, rivers, beaches, and familiarity with nature. His biophilia was scientifically reinforced through Scouting, high school biology and chemistry studies, and his work as a laboratory assistant at the Southern Bio-Research Laboratory. His scientific interests in nature were reflected in his poetry. As an undergraduate student at FSU, Bennett assisted chemistry professor Earl Frieden, with whom he published a review article and, later, Modern Topics in Biochemistry (1966). His two summers in the undergraduate student program at Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor led to Hike On: Poems from Mount Desert Island, Maine (2008). Bennett's graduate school mentor, Fritz Lipmann, had encouraged him to "do things not strictly biochemistry." Poetry led him to workshops and studies with the poet Mary Oliver at Bennington College. His poems have appeared in many publications (see Acknowledgements). The most recent collection is Florida Sketches: William Baldwin Follows Bartram's Tracks (2019). Bennett is a member of The Explorers Club and the Cosmos Club. See less