Ancient and Medieval apiculture, the evolution of periodical cicada broods, insets and human cullture, dinosaur biology, cultural entomology, and human evolution.
Gene Kritsky, a native of North Dakota, grew up with an interest in natural history. As a kid, he collected fossils in Montana and the Dakotas, and insects in Florida. As a teenager he was enthralled by egyptology and greatly influenced by the writings of Charles Darwin.
Kritsky received his BA in Biology from Indiana University in 1974, and his MS and PhD in Entomology from the University of Illinois in 1976 and 1977 respectively.
He received a Fulbright scholarship in 1981-2 to teach at Minya University in Upper Egypt. During that experience he visited 94 archaeological sites and was even locked inside an Egyptian tomb.
Kritsky joined the faculty at Mount St. Joseph University in 1983 and eventually served as the Dean of the School of Behavioral and Natural Sciences before becoming Professor of Biology emeritus in 2023. He has taught a number of courses including Biology I and II, Entomology, Evolution, Marine Biology, and Dinosaur Biology. His research interests include periodical cicadas, the history of beekeeping, insects of ancient Egypt, paleobiology, and Charles Darwin.
Kritsky is a Fellow of the Entomological Society of America, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Indiana Academy of Science. He also served as the Editor of American Entomologist for 15 years.
Kritsky has also received Distinguished Scholar awards from the Indiana Academy of Science and Mount St. Joseph University.
He lives with his wife, the artist Jessee J. Smith, in Cincinnati, Ohio.
