Call Rob Directly: (207) 259-5086

Rob is DEI’s Research Scientist in Marine Carbonate Chemistry. He designed and built our unique Ocean and Coastal Acidification Laboratory for studying impacts of global environmental change on larval and early-juvenile shellfish. Its experimental system enables multifactorial experiments powered by independent, high-precision seawater pH and temperature control.

Rob has provided his expertise in several research projects, including a large-scale clam flat buffering project in Portland, Maine. He came to DEI from UMass Boston, where he designed and built a scalable ocean acidification laboratory to support his dissertation investigating the impacts of ocean acidification on biocalcification in coral reef fishes.

Rob is continuing a series of groundbreaking experiments involving various Gulf of Maine bivalves and crustaceans, with a focus on present-day and forecasted conditions peculiar to eastern Maine. To that end, his work entails developing research partnerships with local shellfish farmers and authorities, exploring mitigation options in both ocean and hatchery, bringing the most up-to-date seawater carbonate chemistry analysis techniques to the region, and applying those techniques to monitor conditions in the marine environment where limited data resources exist.

Originally from Wilbraham, Massachusetts, Rob is no stranger to Downeast Maine, fondly remembering summers spent in Gouldsboro. He now resides in Addison.

Read Dr. Holmberg’s CV here.