1
CURRICULUM VITAE OF DAVID J. BOTTJER
November20, 2017
Born:New York, New York; October 3, 1951
Marital Status:Wife: Dr. Sarah W. Bottjer
Department of Biological Sciences
University of Southern California
Education:B. S. (Geology), Haverford College, 1973
M. A. (Geology), Binghamton University (SUNY), 1976
Ph. D. (Geology; Zoology minor), Indiana University, Bloomington, 1978
Positions:National Research Council Post-Doctoral
Research Associate with U.S. Geological Survey at
Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural
History, Washington, D.C., 1978-1979
Research Associate, Los Angeles County Museum of
Natural History, 1979-
Assistant Professor, Department of Geological
Sciences, University of Southern California, 1979-1985
Associate Professor, Department of Geological
Sciences, University of Southern California, 1985-1991
Professor, Department of Earth Sciences, University of
Southern Califomia, 1991-
Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, University of
Southern California, 2003 –
Professor, Environmental Studies Program, University of
Southern California, 2012 -
Chair, Department of Earth Sciences, University of
Southern California, 2006-2012
Co-Director (with Luis Chiappe), Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHMLAC) – USC Center for Chinese Fossil Discoveries, 2008-
Visiting Scientist, Field Museum of Natural
History, Chicago, May, 1986
Senior Fellow, Center for the Study of the Evolution and Origin of Life (CSEOL), UCLA, 2000
Honors:“Studies in Paleobiology and Paleoecology: In Honor of Professor David J. Bottjer”, all day technical session of 26 talks at 2017 Annual Geological Society of America Meeting in Seattle, October 23, 2017
Guest Professor, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 2017
Raymond C. Moore Medal for Excellence in Paleontology, SEPM Society for Sedimentary Geology, 2014
Albert S. Raubenheimer Award, the highest award given by the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, 2013
Honorary Member, Pacific Section SEPM Society for Sedimentary Geology, 2013
Outstanding Paper in Palaios award from SEPM as co- author of Martindale et al. (doi: 10.2110/palo.2013.016), 2013
Dickinson College 2012 Potter Lecturer
Centennial Fellow, The Paleontological Society, 2007 -
President, The Paleontological Society, 2004-2006
UCLACSEOL Distinguished Scientist Award, 2002
Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1999 –
Listed in Who's Who in America, 1997-
Guest Professor, University of Zurich, 1993
Fellow, Geological Society of America, 1986 -
Paleontological Society Distinguished Lecturer, 1992-93.
Honorable Mention from the Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists for publication of one of the four best papers in the 1980 Journal of Paleontology
Prize for Best Student Paper Presented at 1977 Annual Meeting of North Central Section of the Geological Society of America
Indiana University Graduate School Fellow, 1977-1978
Recent Research Seminars
For 1992-2017: Caltech (5), UCLA (7), Scripps Institute of Oceanography, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Riverside (2), Louisiana State University, University of Texas at Austin, University of Cincinnati, Northwestern University, Bryn Mawr College, University of Pennsylvania, University of Kansas, University of Ottawa, ETH (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology), University of Birmingham (U.K.), Cambridge University (U.K.), University of Auckland (New Zealand), University of Tokyo (2), Kyushu University (Japan), Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (2), Occidental College, Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Long Beach, Dickinson College (2), Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology (6), Cal State Channel Islands, Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru (Lima), Cornell University, NAS Committee on Astrobiology and Planetary Science.
Ph.D. Advisees
1) Charles E. Savrda (1986), currently Professor, Auburn University.
2) Mary L. Droser (1987), currently Professor, UC Riverside.
3) Reese Barrick (1993), currently Director, Sternberg Museum at Fort Hays
State University, Kansas..
4) Jennifer Schubert (1993), Assistant Professor, University of Miami (Florida)
(1993-95), currently practicing law in Seattle, Washington.
5) Kate Whidden (1994), currently Senior Research Scientist, U.S. Geological
Survey, Denver.
6) Kathleen Campbell (1995), currently Professor, University of Auckland, New
Zealand.
7) Carol M. Tang (1996), Assistant Professor, Arizona State University (1997-
2001), currently Executive Director of Children’s Creativity Museum in San
Francisco.
8) Adam Woods (1998), currently Professor, California State University,
Fullerton.
9) James W. Hagadorn (1998), currently Curator of Geology, Denver Museum of
Nature and Science.
10) Stephen A. Schellenberg (2000), currently Professor and Associate Dean,
San Diego State University.
11) Nicole M. Fraser (2002), currently mother of two, Washington, D.C.
12) Stephen Q. Dornbos (2003), currently Associate Professor, University of
Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
13) Sara B. Pruss (2004), currently Associate Professor, Smith College.
14) Margaret L. Fraiser (2005), currently Associate Professor, University of
Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
15) Gerald Grellet-Tinner (2005), currently Research Associate, Field Museum of
Natural History.
16) Nicole Bonuso (2005), currently Associate Professor, California State
University, Fullerton.
17) Matthew Clapham (2006), currently Professor, UC Santa Cruz.
18) Pedro Marenco (2007), currently Associate Professor, Bryn Mawr College.
19) Katherine Marenco (2008), currently Lecturer, Bryn Mawr College.
20) Catherine Powers (2009), currently Lecturer, Metropolitan State University of
Denver.
21) Jingmai O’Connor (2009), currently Professor, Institute of
Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (Chinese Academy of
Sciences), Beijing
22) Sarah Greene (2011), currently Lecturer in Paleoclimatology, University of
Birmingham, UK.
23) Scott Mata (2012), currently Lecturer, California State University, Fullerton.
24) Rowan Martindale (2012), currently Assistant Professor, University of Texas,
Austin.
25) Kathleen Ritterbush (2013), currently Assistant Professor, University of Utah.
26) Alyssa Bell (2013), currently Postdoctoral Research Associate, Natural
History Museum of Los Angeles County.
26) Lydia Tackett (2014), currently Assistant Professor, North Dakota State
University.
27) Carlie Pietsch (2015), currently Assistant Professor, San Jose State
University.
28) Elizabeth Petsios (2016), currently post-doc, University of Florida,
Gainesville.
Professional Activities:
Member of Organizing Committee, SEPM (Society for Sedimentary Geology) Sedimentological Congrress, September, 2020.
Member of Organizing Committee, 11th North American Paleontological Convention, Riverside, CA, June 23-27, 2019.
Co-organizer (with Jeffrey Thompson) of 2017 Geological Society of America Annual Meeting (Seattle, WA) Topical Session entitled “ Paleogenomics and Geobiology”, October 24, 2017.
Co-organizer (with Jeffrey Thompson) of 2016 Geological Society of America Annual Meeting (Denver, CO) topical Session entitled “Evolution, Development, and Paleogenomics”, September 25, 2016.
Councilor for Paleontology, SEPM Society for Sedimentary Geology, 2015-2017.
Co-Organizer (with Lydia Tackett and Rowan Martindale) of 2014 Geological Society of America Annual Meeting (Vancouver, Canada) Topical Session entitled “Major Evolutionary Events of the Early Mesozoic – Paleontology and Paleoecology from the Middle Triassic to the Late Jurassic”, October 20, 2014.
Member of Academic Committee for the Third International Conference of Geobiology, June 8-10, 2014, Wuhan (Hubei), China.
Co-Organizer (with Tom Algeo and Arne Winguth) of 2013 Geological Society of America Annual Meeting (Denver) Topical Session entitled “Into the Frying PAN: The Early Triassic Hothouse of Pangea and Panthalassa ”, October 27, 2013.
Co-Organizer of NSF-NSFC Workshop on Critical Transitions in the History of Life, August 4-6, 2013, Yunnan University, Kunming, China.
Member of International Advisory Committee for “World Summit on P-Tr Mass Extinction & Extreme Climate Change”, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), June 13-15, 2013.
Co-Organizer (with Tom Algeo and Arne Winguth) of 2012 Geological Society of America Annual Meeting (Charlotte) Topical Session entitled “The Big Kill: Paleobiological, Geochemical, and Modeling Studies of the Permian-Triassic Boundary Mass Extinction”, November 4, 2012.
Participant in TRANSITIONS (The Changing Earth-Life System—Critical Information for Society from the Deep Past) Workshop, sponsored by the National Science Foundation, October 24-25, 2011, in Arlington, Virginia.
Organizer of 2011 Geological Society of America Annual Meeting (Minneapolis) Topical Session entitled “The Triassic: Turning Point for Phanerozoic Life” (10/10/11.
Co-organizer of DETELON (Deep Time Earth-Life Observatory Network) Science Plan Workshop, sponsored by the National Science Foundation, February 2-4, 2011, at the Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
Member of Academic Committee for the First International Conference of Geobiology, June 3-6, 2010, Wuhan (Hubei), China
Co-organizer of DETELON (Deep Time Earth-Life Observatory Network) Workshop, sponsored by the National Science Foundation, April 23-25, 2010, at the Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
Past-President, The Paleontological Society, 2006-08.
Member of Editorial Board of Frontiers of Earth Science in China, published by Springer, 2007-.
Member of Sea Urchin Genome Sequencing Consortium (Echinoderm Evolution), 2006-07.
President, The Paleontological Society, 2004-06.
President-Elect, The Paleontological Society, 2002-04.
Co-organizer (with Peter Ward) of 2006 Geological Society of America Annual Meeting (Philadelphia) Topical Session entitled “Mass Extinctions: New Approaches Analyzing Process Links Between Land and Sea” (10/24/06).
Organizer of "Future Research Directions in Paleontology" workshop, sponsored by NSF and The Paleontological Society, held at the Smithsonian Institution on April 8-9, 2006.
Editor-in-Chief of the Elsevier journal Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 2000-2016.
Co-editor (with R.K. Bambach and H.-D. Sues) of Columbia University Press "Critical Moments and Perspectives in Paleobiology and Earth History" book series, 1990- (15 volumes published to date).
Member, Marine Group Advisory Board of the Paleobiology Data Base (PBDB), 2003-.
Co-organizer (with Peter Allison) of 2005 Geological Society of America Annual Meeting (Salt Lake City) Topical Session entitled “Taphonomy: Process and Bias through Time” (10/16/05).
Co-organizer (with J.W. Schopf) of 2003 Geological Society of America Annual Meeting (Seattle) Topical Session entitled “The Hunt for Precambrian Life: An Integrated Approach” (11/04/03).
Member, Officer Nominating Committee, Society for Sedimentary Geology (SEPM), 2002-03.
President, Pacific Section SEPM (Society for Sedimentary Geology), 2001-2002.
Member of Organizing Committee for 2001 North American Paleontology Convention (NAPC 2001), held at UC Berkeley June 26 - July 1, 2001.
Co-organizer (with R. Twitchett) of Symposium on “The Beginning of the Mesozoic” at 2001 North American Paleontology Convention (NAPC 2001), held at UC Berkeley June 27, 2001.
Member of Editorial Board of Geology, published by Geological Society of America, 1995-2000.
Member of National Science Foundation funding panel on "Earth Systems History", 1997-1999.
Co-organizer (with J.W. Hagadorn and F. Pflüger) of a GSA Sedimentary Geology Division Theme Session held at the 1997 Annual GSA Meeting in Salt Lake City (10/21/97), entitled "Unexplored microbial worlds: Evidence from occurrences of unique microbial sedimentary structures".
Co-leader (with Carol M. Tang) of GSA Field Trip "Triassic and Jurassic Macroinvertebrate Faunas of Utah: Field Relationships and Paleobiologic Significance", held after 1997 Annual GSA Meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Co-organizer (with Warren Allmon) of the Paleontological Society Annual Symposium on "Evolutionary Paleoecology", held at the Annual GSA Meeting in Denver, October, 1996.
Member of organizing committee planning a National Science Foundation funding initiative, "Geobiology of Critical Intervals (GOCI)", 1996-97.
Invited Delegate to "Paleontology in the 21st Century" planning conference, supported by the National Science Foundation, held at the Senckenberg Museum in Frankfurt, Germany on September 3-9, 1997.
Member of Paleontological Society Medals Committee, 1995-97.
Member of Paleontological Society Officer Nominations Committee, 1997-98.
Editor of SEPM Journal PALAIOS, 1989-1996.
Organizer of the Paleontological Society Annual Symposium on "The Permian-Triassic Mass Extinction: Causes and Consequences", held at the Annual GSA Meeting in Boston, October, 1993.
Co-leader for the Pacific Section SEPM 1993 Fall Field Trip, held October 9-11, 1993.
Organizer of the Project Pangea Symposium on "Pangean Mass Extinctions", held at the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists in Calgary, August, 1993.
Co-organizer of NAPC V symposium on "Environmental patterns in the origins and fates of major groups", held in July, 1992 in Chicago.
Co-organizer of "Paleoecology Workshop", sponsored by the Paleontological Society, held in October, 1991 in San Diego.
Editorial board member of Historical Biology, published by Harwood Academic Publishers, 1988-1993.
Associate editor of Cretaceous Research, published by Academic Press, 1988-1990.
Member of governing council of SEPM, 1989-1996 (by being editor of PALAIOS).
Editorial board member of Geology, published by the Geological Society of America, 1984- 1989.
Substitute member for "Committee on the Solid-Earth Sciences: A Critical Assessment", organized by the National Research Council and chaired by Peter Wyllie, 1989.
Field trip co-leader for 1988 Annual Meeting of the Cordilleran Section of the Geological Society of America held in Las Vegas, "Trends in Extent and Depth of Early Paleozoic Bioturbation in the Great Basin (California, Nevada and Utah)", March 27-28, 1988.
Member of SEPM (Society for Sedimentary Geology) Research Committee (1986-1987), Developing Countries Library Committee (1985-1988), Publications Committee (1988-1989), Midyear Site Selection Committee (1989), and Publications Policy Committee (1989).
Field trip co-leader for 1987 National AAPG-SEPM convention held in Los Angeles, "New Concepts in the Use of Biogenic Sedimentary Structures for Paleoenvironmental Interpretation of Southern California Mesozoic and Cenozoic Strata", June 6, 1987.
Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists Technical Program Vice-Chairman for 1987 National AAPG-SEPM convention in Los Angeles, June 7-10, 1987.
President of Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists Trace Fossils Research Group, 1986-1987.
Vice-President of Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists Trace Fossils Research Group, 1984-1986.
Co-organizer (with C. S. Hickman and P. D. Ward) for the Paleontological Society 1985 Short Course on Mollusks, held at the Annual Meeting of the Geological Society of America in Orlando, Florida, October 28-31, 1985.
Organizer and co-convenor for the 1984 Pacific Coast Section of the Paleontological Society Annual Symposium held with the Cordilleran Section of the Geological Society of America Annual Meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, "Paleontology and Paleoecology of Active Continental Margins", May 31, 1984.
Representative of the Paleontological Society to the Geological Society of America Joint Technical Program Committee, which selects the program for the Annual Meetings of the GSA, 1982-1984.
Chairman, Pacific Coast Section, the Paleontological Society, 1983-1984.
Member of the governing council of the Paleontological Society, 1983- 1984 (by being Chairman of the Pacific Coast Section).
Vice-Chairman, Pacific Coast Section, the Paleontological Society, 1982-1983.
Field trip co-leader for Pacific Sections of Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists, American Association of Petroleum Geologists, and Society of Exploration Geophysicists 1982 Annual Meeting in Anaheim, "Late Cretaceous Depositional Environments and Paleogeography, Santa Ana Mountains, Southem California", April 1417, 1982.
Co-convenor of Friends of the Bivalves Business Meetings at Geological Society of America AnnualMeetings, 1981-97.
National Science Foundation NATO Postdoctoral Fellowships in Science Program, panel for selection of fellows, Denver, Colorado, December 9- 11, 1982.
Field trip co-leader for Pacific Section, Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists, Fall Field Trip on "Simi Hills Cretaceous Turbidites, Southern California", October 10, 1981.
Research Funding
“Automated, multispectral imaging workflow for returned sample science”, NASA JPL SURP, January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2018, $34,940 as Co Investigator (With PI K.H. Williford and co-PI’s M.J. Tuite and F.A. Corsetti).
“Earth-life transitions: Linked geochemical/biotic response to massive volcanic CO2 injection during the Triassic-Jurassic mass extinction”, NSF, September 1, 2013 to August 31, 2018, $1,000,000 grant as Co-Principal Investigator (with PI F.A. Corsetti and co-PI’s T.W. Becker, N.M. Levine and A.J. West).
“Paleodevelopmental evolution in echinoids”, NSF CREATIV, September 1, 2012 to August 31, 2016, $800,000 grant as Co-Principal Investigator (with PI E.H. Davidson).
“Do mass extinctions have diagenetic consequences? Investigating unique early diagenesis at the Triassic-Jurassic boundary”, NSF, May 1, 2010 to October 31, 2011, $32,837 grant as Principal Investigator (with co-PI F.A. Corsetti).
"Interdisciplinary analysis of Precambrian animal fossils from SW China", NASA, April 1, 2002 to March 31, 2007, $1,666,112 grant as co-Principal Investigator with E.H. Davidson and J. Eiler (Caltech), J.y. Chen (Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, China), and C.W. Li (National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan).
“Collaborative Research (USC and University of Maryland): Investigating Early Triassic ocean chemistry, stratigraphy, and paleobiology during the protracted biotic recovery from the Permo-Triassic mass extinction”, NSF, February 1, 2005 to February 28, 2008, $150,001.00 grant as co-Principal Investigator with F.A. Corsetti and A.J. Kaufman (University of Maryland).
“SGER: Development and provision of critical Triassic marine faunal data to the Paleobiology Database: A unique opportunity within a limited time frame”, NSF, May 1, 2004 to April 30, 2005, $26,000.00 grant as Principal Investigator.
“The beginning of the Mesozoic: Seventy million years of environmental and ecological crisis?”, USC Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Major Support for Current Faculty Grant , July 1, 2002 to June 30, 2003, $22,000 grant as Principal Investigator.
“Study of the oldest animal fossils with computer tomography”, NASA JPL DRDF, October 1, 2002 to September 30, 2003, $50,000 grant as co-PI with A. Tsapin (NASA JPL).
"The Cambrian marine substrate revolution: Evidence from southwestern China", National Geographic Society, August 1, 2000 to July 30, 20001, $9,000 grant as Principal Investigator.
"Lateral heterogeneity of bioturbation structures in reservoir sandstones", American Chemical Society, Petroleum Research Fund, July 1, 1997 to August 31, 2000, $49,790 grant as co-Principal Investigator with M. L. Droser.
"Geochemical and faunal analysis of deep-ocean ostracodes during two transient climate extrema of the Paleogene: A test of benthic foram delta-O-18-based climate reconstructions using ostracode Mg:Ca ratios", Ocean Drilling Project, September, 1997 to September, 1999, $22,000 as student fellowship.
"Evolutionary paleoecology of North American Jurassic marine invertebrate paleocommunities", National Geographic Society, August 1, 1994 to July 31, 1995, $11,520 grant as Principal Investigator.
"Evaluation of Mesozoic and Cenozoic cold seep faunas along the northeast Pacific convergent margin", American Chemical Society, Petroleum Research Fund, June 1, 1991 to August 31, 1993, $40,000 grant as Principal Investigator.
"The beginning of the Mesozoic: Paleoecological and paleoenvironmental analysis of the Lower Triassic Virgin Limestones (Nevada and Utah)". National Science Foundation, July 1, 1990 to June 30, 1993, $90,000.00 grant as Principal Investigator.
""Paleoecology of ancient cold seep biotas from the Pacific Northwest". The National Geographic Society, July 1, 1990 to June 30, 1991, $9,300.00 grant as Principal Investigator.
Cooperative research - Bioturbation fabric study on Mowry Cores". Chevron Oil Field Research Company, March 1, 1990 to April 30, 1990, for travel and living expenses, as Co-Principal Investigator with M. L. Droser.
"Recovery of marine biotas from mass extinctions: evidence from Early Triassic fossil faunas in Nevada and Utah". University of Southern California Faculty Research and Innovation Fund, July 1, 1988 to June 30, 1990, $4,200.00 grant as Principal Investigator.
"The paleoenvironmental history of higher taxa of post-Paleozoic macroinvertebrates". American Chemical Society, Petroleum Research Fund, September 1, 1988 to August 30, 1990, $20,000 grant as Co-Principal Investigator with D. Jablonski.
"Microplate tectonic development of southem Califomia". National Science Foundation, January 1, 1989 to June 30, 1991, $90,000 grant as Co-Principal Investigator with S. P. Lund.