I am a geoscientist and evolutionary biologist studying ecosystems of the Late Cretaceous, or the last 35 million years of the 'Age of Dinosaurs.' I use a combination of vertebrate paleontology, phylogenetics (how organisms are related), stratigraphy, sedimentology (interpretation of rocks deposited in rivers, lakes, and oceans), and studies of modern osteology (anatomy and function of bone) to unlock the pattern and process of evolution in the context of changing environments. So far, my research has mostly focused on ancient freshwater turtles and giant marine lizards called mosasaurs. I am passionate about my research because it allows me to make discoveries both in museum collections and in the field. Paleontology has taken me to over 20 museums around the world to study fossils. On an annual basis, fieldwork takes my collaborators and I to the badlands of the Intermountain West and beyond. On 1 September, 2020, I will be starting a new job as Curator of Paleontology at the Utah State University Eastern Prehistoric Museum in Price, Utah.
I enjoy spending my free time with my wife Amanda and our puppy June Bug. Birding has become my main hobby over the last few years, and I contribute my observations to the citizen science initiatives eBird and iNaturalist.
Curriculum Vitae
Google Scholar
Twitter: @JLivelyPaleo
Education
Ph.D., Geological Sciences, 2019
University of Texas at Austin
Dissertation: Macroevolution in the Greenhouse: Morphological Diversity of Mosasaurs and the Evolution of Late Cretaceous Marine Ecosystems
M.S., Geology, 2013
University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
Thesis: New Baenid Turtles from the Kaiparowits Formation of Utah: Implications for Laramidian Biogeography.
B.S., Geology, 2010
Auburn University
Summa cum Laude
Senior Honors Scholar
Thesis: Genesis of the Tombigbee Sand Member Caprock, Eutaw Formation (Late Cretaceous), Montgomery County, Alabama with Emphasis on a Preserved Life Assemblage of Pen Shells.
Professional Appointments
Sep., 2020 - present: Curator of Paleontology, USU Eastern Prehistoric Museum
Aug., 2019 - Aug., 2020: Assistant Professor, University of Illinois Springfield
May, 2019 - Aug., 2019: Instructor, Sternberg Museum of Natural History Science Camps
Aug., 2018 - May, 2019: Doctoral Dissertation Fellow, University of Illinois Springfield
Aug., 2017 – Aug., 2018: Collections Assistant, Non-vertebrate Paleontology Lab and Vertebrate Paleontology Lab, UT-Austin
Aug., 2016 – Aug., 2017: University Graduate Fellow, UT-Austin
Aug., 2012 – May, 2016; Jan, 2017 – May, 2017: Graduate Teaching Assistant, UT-Austin
June – Aug., 2015: Assistant Instructor (lecturer), UT-Austin
Aug. – Dec., 2014: Instructor, Austin Monday Co-op home school
June – July, 2014: Collections Assistant, Non-vertebrate Paleontology Lab, UT-Austin
Aug., 2011 – May, 2012: Graduate Teaching Assistant, U of Utah
Aug., 2010 – May 2011: Graduate Research Fellow, U of Utah
January 2009 – May 2010: Undergraduate Teaching Assistant, Auburn
I enjoy spending my free time with my wife Amanda and our puppy June Bug. Birding has become my main hobby over the last few years, and I contribute my observations to the citizen science initiatives eBird and iNaturalist.
Curriculum Vitae
Google Scholar
Twitter: @JLivelyPaleo
Education
Ph.D., Geological Sciences, 2019
University of Texas at Austin
Dissertation: Macroevolution in the Greenhouse: Morphological Diversity of Mosasaurs and the Evolution of Late Cretaceous Marine Ecosystems
M.S., Geology, 2013
University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
Thesis: New Baenid Turtles from the Kaiparowits Formation of Utah: Implications for Laramidian Biogeography.
B.S., Geology, 2010
Auburn University
Summa cum Laude
Senior Honors Scholar
Thesis: Genesis of the Tombigbee Sand Member Caprock, Eutaw Formation (Late Cretaceous), Montgomery County, Alabama with Emphasis on a Preserved Life Assemblage of Pen Shells.
Professional Appointments
Sep., 2020 - present: Curator of Paleontology, USU Eastern Prehistoric Museum
Aug., 2019 - Aug., 2020: Assistant Professor, University of Illinois Springfield
May, 2019 - Aug., 2019: Instructor, Sternberg Museum of Natural History Science Camps
Aug., 2018 - May, 2019: Doctoral Dissertation Fellow, University of Illinois Springfield
Aug., 2017 – Aug., 2018: Collections Assistant, Non-vertebrate Paleontology Lab and Vertebrate Paleontology Lab, UT-Austin
Aug., 2016 – Aug., 2017: University Graduate Fellow, UT-Austin
Aug., 2012 – May, 2016; Jan, 2017 – May, 2017: Graduate Teaching Assistant, UT-Austin
June – Aug., 2015: Assistant Instructor (lecturer), UT-Austin
Aug. – Dec., 2014: Instructor, Austin Monday Co-op home school
June – July, 2014: Collections Assistant, Non-vertebrate Paleontology Lab, UT-Austin
Aug., 2011 – May, 2012: Graduate Teaching Assistant, U of Utah
Aug., 2010 – May 2011: Graduate Research Fellow, U of Utah
January 2009 – May 2010: Undergraduate Teaching Assistant, Auburn