Growing up in the Midwest, Dr. Bauer was always interested in the natural history of plants and animals. His science courses at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree, convinced him of a career in biology. He was greatly influenced by the 1960's television specials on marine biology produced by the pioneering oceanographer and co-inventor of SCUBA, Jacques Cousteau. These led him to apply for and be accepted into the graduate program at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (University of California, San Diego), where he received a doctorate in Marine Biology in 1976. After teaching marine and invertebrate zoology courses at Cal Poly State University (San Luis Obispo), he was awarded a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian Institution). As working in tropical seas was always a dream, when he was offered a tenure-track position at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, he eagerly accepted. There he taught courses in marine science and invertebrate zoology (in Spanish) for five years (Assistant, then Associate Professor). While there, he conducted research in marine ecology and crustacean biology. He was offered and accepted a position at the University of Louisiana, Lafayette (ULL) in 1986, rising to Full Professor in 1994. He has received various awards, e.g., Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, ULL Distinguished Professor and The Crustacean Society Excellence in Research Award. He retired from ULL in 2011 with Emeritus Professor status. Since “retirement,” Dr. Bauer has continued with research, publication and teaching short courses in shrimp biology. 

Growing up in the Midwest, Dr. Bauer was always interested in the natural history of plants and animals. His science courses at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree, convinced him of a career in biology. He was greatly influenced by the 1960's television specials on marine biology produced by the pioneering oceanographer and co-inventor of SCUBA, Jacques Cousteau. These led him to apply for and be accepted into the graduate program at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (University of California, San Diego), where he received a doctorate in Marine Biology in 1976. After teaching marine and invertebrate zoology courses at Cal Poly State University (San Luis Obispo), he was awarded a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian Institution). As working in tropical seas was always a dream, when he was offered a tenure-track position at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, he eagerly accepted. There he taught courses in marine science and invertebrate zoology (in Spanish) for five years (Assistant, then Associate Professor). While there, he conducted research in marine ecology and crustacean biology. He was offered and accepted a position at the University of Louisiana, Lafayette (ULL) in 1986, rising to Full Professor in 1994. He has received various awards, e.g., Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, ULL Distinguished Professor and The Crustacean Society Excellence in Research Award. He retired from ULL in 2011 with Emeritus Professor status. Since “retirement,” Dr. Bauer has continued with research, publication and teaching short courses in shrimp biology.