Thomas Peter Bennett is a Florida native, former professor and natural history museum executive, he has published scientific articles and books, as well as poems and collections. A graduate of Florida State University, Bennett earned his PhD in biochemistry from Rockefeller University and became an assistant professor at Harvard University. He later returned to FSU as a professor and the chair of biological sciences, afterwards serving as the special assistant to the president and acting executive vice president. His museum work began with his appointment as the president of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, now the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University. After a decade at the Academy, he returned to Florida as a dean, professor, and the director of the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida. Ten years later he became the executive director of the South Florida Museum and retired as an emeritus executive director.While teaching, Bennett started publishing poetry, attended workshops, and studied with Mary Oliver at Bennington College. Bennett's poems have appeared in, Red Owl, Chebacco, POETALK, The Café Review, Puckerbrush Review, Pegasus Review, and Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, among others, and in various anthologies, such as Goose River Anthology, Cosmos Club Poets Through the Years, and Bay Area Poets Coalition. He is the author of several poetry chapbooks and ten poetry books, including Nature, As One Sees It (2003), A Celebration of John and William Bartram: In Philadelphia and Florida (2005), Hike On (2008), Encore Seasons (2017, Florida Sketches ( 2019), The Applause of Science (2021 and Audubon Explores Florida (2023)In addition to his poetry and scientific works, Bennett has several textbooks and historical scientific books to his credit: The Legacy: South Florida Museum (2010), Florida Explored: The Philadelphia Connection in Bartram's Tracks (2019). He is a member of The Explorers Club and the Cosmos Club.His son, Dr. Alexander Staub Bennett is Research Professor and Director, Opioid Overdose Prevention Program at New York University, School of Global Public Health. Recipient 2018, New York City Department of Health, "Lifesaver Award." The author of many historical and scientific articles about drug addiction and harm reduction, he is a leader in establishing harm reduction centers.
