I'm a paleontologist with particular interests in biotic interactions and paleobiodiversity databases. Taxonomically, most of my work has focused on either Paleozoic crinoids or Quaternary terrestrial vertebrates.

Currently I'm a lecturer and assistant curator in Earth & Planetary Sciences at UC Davis, where I am teaching a class on designing museum exhibits and lesson plans using the UCD fossil collection.

Other things I'm currently thinking about or working on:

• Outreach fossil collections and lesson plans for student ambassadors
• Collections management software systems for teaching collections
• Quantifying the effects of geographic sampling and reporting bias on global paleobiological studies
• Combining finite element analysis with a crinoid stem ossicle morphospace to get paleoenvironmental data from encrinites
• Paleobiogeography of crinoids in the Middle and Late Devonian of the Great Basin

If you're interested in any of these topics, feel free to email me.

Curriculum vitae

Summary

• Lecturer/Assistant Curator, University of California, Davis, 2024-present
• Postdoc, University of California, Merced, 2022-2024
• Instructor (Geology & Biology), Clovis Community College, 2018-2021
• Postdoc, University of Wisconsin, Ann Arbor, 2015-2016
• Ph.D. (Geology/Paleontology), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 2014 (dissertation)
• B.S. (Geology), Caltech, 2008

Links to my topical résumés/CVs:

• Full academic CV
• Résumé focused on software developer positions
• Résumé focused on geoscience teaching positions
• Résumé focused on paleontological resource management positions

Recent posts

Nothing here yet!

Collaborators

• David Gold (lab website)
• Jessica Blois (lab website)
• Marta Jarzyna (lab website)
• André Bellvé (website)
• Don Prothero (website)
• Judi Sclafani (website)
• Shanan Peters (lab website)

Contact Me

email: vsyverson (at) gmail.com, vsyverson (at) ucdavis.edu

researchgate: Val J. P. Syverson

linkedin: Val Syverson

bluesky (active): @vjpsyverson

twitter (defunct): @vjpsyverson