Hometown Hawkeye: Steve Bernholtz

Name: Steve Bernholtz
Residence: Des Moines, Iowa
Degree: B.S. (Chemistry) ’93
Occupation: Environmental Specialist with the University of Iowa State Hygienic Laboratory in Ankeny

Carroll native and Des Moines resident Steve Bernholtz is the kind of guy you want on your side, a chemical detective who looks for things in water and soil that you probably don’t want in there.

Des Moines is in Polk County, Iowa, which includes:

14,385 UI alumni
1,049 UI-educated teachers and school administrators
549 UI-educated physicians
221 UI-educated dentists
124 UI-educated pharmacists

Discover how the UI impacts the lives ofIowansborder to border, river to river, at outreach.uiowa.edu.

An environmental specialist with the University of Iowa’s State Hygienic Laboratory in Ankeny, Bernholtz analyzes a wide range of samples, from water and soil to building materials and sludge, looking for the presence of elements such as lead, arsenic, mercury, and thallium. He also analyzes blood for the presence of lead in child screenings and conducts tuberculosis testing.

After attending junior college in Iowa Falls, Bernholtz got an internship with the State Hygienic Lab in the UI Research Park in Coralville in the summer of 1987. He transferred to Iowa the next year, and the lab asked him to stay on while he took classes.

“I wouldn’t have chosen any other school than the UI,” he says. “It helped make me what I am today.”

When he’s not in the lab, Bernholtz gives back to the community through his involvement with the Boy Scouts. Although his son made Eagle Scout a few years ago, Bernholtz continues to serve as a merit badge councilor for a local troop.

As for his decision to stay in Iowa after graduation, Bernholtz says it was a no-brainer.

“I vacation in other states, but in the end, I always can’t wait to get back home,” he says. “I have never had the desire to leave Iowa for any other place. I love it here, and my whole family is here. I feel the work I do for the state is important, and I want to do my best for Iowa.”

Did you know? Each year, the State Hygienic Laboratory conducts more than 500,000 tests and screenings for Iowans. This includes newborn screening for all babies born in the state, monitoring of contaminants in the air, water and soil, and infectious disease testing and surveillance.

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Hometown Hawkeyes are University of Iowa alumni, students, faculty, and staff living, working, and making a difference in Iowa. Know a Hometown Hawkeye you’d like to see profiled in Iowa Now? Email your suggestion to us at now@uiowa.edu.