Graduate and Undergraduate Students

Ichnology Research Lab, Dept. of Geological Sciences

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I am currently seeking motivated graduate students who are interested in studying various aspects of continental ichnology and paleopedology, including the relationships between Pennsylvanian soil organisms, paleosols, and paleoenvironmental changes in the Appalachian Basin.

Undergraduate students are an important part of any research laboratory. I currently have several small-scale projects that can be completed as part of a senior thesis.

Please see News and Opportunities for projects and funding opportunities.

Current Graduate Students
I am seeking two well-qualified graduate students interested in pursuing a MS in Geology with a focus on ichnology and paleopedology. I have NSF and PRF funded Research Assistantships available for the 2010-11 and 2011-12 academic years. Additional funding is available for laboratory and field expenses as well as meeting travel. See News and Opportunities for more details.
Current Undergraduate Students
Bart Rasor Bart began an undergraduate thesis in 2008. He was part a National Geographic funded research team from Ohio University to the South Pacific island of Lifou. The purpose of this expedition was to document the first known modern, shallow water deposit of Nautilus shells in two bays in the southern part of the island. Bart is helping to describe the sedimentology of the shallow bays and the taphonomic signatures of the shells in order to develop a modern analog for fossil cephalopod deposits. Lee Johnson Lee joined the CIRL in Fall 2009. He is helping with animal care, assisting in experimental setup and data collection, and the construction of a neoichnology database. Robert Tenwalde Lee joined the CIRL in Fall 2009. He is helping with animal care, assisting in experimental setup and data collection, and the construction of a neoichnology database. Alumni Krista Smilek, MS 2009 Krista completed her Master’s thesis “Using Ichnology and Sedimentology to Determine the Paleoenvironmental and Paleoecological Conditions of a Nearshore Depositional Environment: Case Studies from the Pennsylvanian Ames Limestone and Modern Holothurians” in 2009. In her thesis research Krista performed the first detailed investigation of the ichnology of the Ames Limestone from outcrops in the vicinity of Athens, Ohio. She also completed a neoichnologic study of the holothurian Thyonella in order to document the suite of possible trace fossils produced by burrowing sea cucumbers in different substrates. Krista received a Geological Society of America grant to help fund her field and laboratory work. Krista has presented both parts of her thesis research at the 2008 and 2009 Geological of Society Annual Meetings and is currently preparing these papers for publication. Krista now works as the Academic Director of the University of Cincinnati Department of Geology.
Copyright © 2007 Daniel Hembree Last revised: 11/2009