Nebraskaland

52 Nebraskaland • July 2026 Mixed Bag John Janovy Jr., professor emeritus at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, is a world-renowned parasite ecologist. He arrived at UNL in 1966 and began running a laboratory at the university's Cedar Point Biological Station near Ogallala, where his students spent most of their time conducting field r e s e a r c h . T h e i r w o r k i n c l u d e d s t u d y i n g t h e movement and effects of parasites on amphibians and reptiles, Monogenoidea f l a t w o r m s o n m i n n o w p o p u l a t i o n s i n f l ow i n g w a t e r, a n d g r e g a r i n e parasites of beetles. J a n o v y g r e w u p i n Oklahoma City and spent much of his youth "messing around" outdoors, stealing away to explore vacant lots and bike riding to Lake Hefner where he fished and ran traplines with friends. His father, a petroleum geologist, often invited him on oil well survey trips — and fishing opportunities in nearby ponds along the way. Janovy's m o t h e r, a vo ra c i o u s re a d e r a n d artist, kept the house full of books and art supplies to support her son's interest in drawing birds. But of all his scientific and creative opportunities as a child, it was a toy microscope that opened Janovy's world. Recalling the time his father soaked some hay in a water jar until it was full of paramecium, a single-celled organism found in water, Janovy said, "When I first looked through that lens, I was hooked, and I've looked at something through a microscope pretty much every day since." The scientist also continued his interest in drawing and painting birds and is no stranger to Nebraskaland Magazine. On a whim, he showed his paintings to editor Lowell Johnson, who liked his work. Janovy's first Ne b ra s ka l a n d s to r y a p p e a re d i n August 1976 — a six-page spread "Birds of the Field," complete with words and illustrations. Afterward, Janovy realized, "I could write a whole lot more about these birds," which led to the publication o f h i s f i rs t b o o k " Ke i t h Co u n t y Journal" in 1978, a recounting of his adventures with graduate students while studying parasitic life cycles at Cedar Point. "Janovy is hauntingly reminiscent of Thoreau," his book editor noted at the time. As a professor, Janovy did not s e p a r a t e h i s e f f o r t s f r o m h i s students, whom he finds enormous privilege in interacting and working with. In his 1994 book "Dunwoody Po n d : Re f l e c t i o n s o n t h e H i g h Plains Wetlands and the Cultivation of Naturalists," the parasitologist wrote, "Students are what makes academic science one of the truly noble professions." Janovy is remembered among students for his introduction of "Big Talk." D u r i n g t h e s e i n f o r m a l se s s i o n s, p ro fe s so r a n d s t u d e n t s s h a r e d i d e a s and concerns in relaxed, o p e n - e n d e d d i sc u s s i o n s that encouraged unique perspectives and forged students' confidence in their abilities to ask and answer questions. For he b e l i eve d t h a t s t u d e n t s who can confidently ask questions may be saved from "parasitic ideas." Janovy is not only a respected, award-winning scientist among his peers, he's also a diligent author. Though retired, the Varner professor emeritus has published more than 100 scientific papers and written 32 books, and he continues to write daily. Julie Thomas is a University of Nebraska-Lincoln professor emerita and a Nebraska Master Naturalist. To celebrate our history of conservation storytelling, Nebraskaland will feature experts who have made a difference for Nebraska's wildlife and wild places. Without their work, Nebraskaland writers would have fewer stories to tell. Nebraska's Parasitologist — John Janovy Jr. By Julie Thomas

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