Benjamin Burger, PhD
Associate Professor of Geology
Utah State University
Uintah Basin Regional Campus – Vernal, Utah
320 North Aggie Blvd. Vernal, UT 84078
benjamin.burger at usu.edu
https://twitter.com/benjamin_burger
https://www.youtube.com/c/BenjaminBurgerScience
Education
- Ph.D. 2009 University of Colorado at Boulder, Geology
- M.S. 1999 State University of New York at Stony Brook, Anatomy
- B.S. 1997 University of Colorado at Boulder, Geology
About
The fossil record provides evidence for large-scale planetary changes that have occurred throughout the geological past. Using the fossil evidence in the rock record I am fascinated by the causes and consequences of these major paleoecologic changes. I have dedicated my life to the study of life on Earth as a paleontologist. For the past ten years I’ve taught paleontology to a generation of geology students at Utah State University. My research focuses on the major transitions in the fossil record associated with past global warming events.
Teaching
Delicate Arch in Eastern Utah.
I teach 18 credits a year, including Physical Geology, Integrative Physical Science, Planet Earth (online and honors courses), Earth through Time (Historical Geology), Natural History of Dinosaurs, Advanced Stratigraphy, Sedimentary Petrology, Invertebrate Paleontology and Paleobotany and Vertebrate Paleontology, as well as sometimes leading exercises as part of the geology undergraduate field camp. All courses have been developed utilizing the interactive video conferencing (IVC) system to reach a statewide audience of USU students, as well as online courses for international students.
Research
Broadly stated my research encapsulates how the environment changes over time, as it is expressed in the fossil record. In particular, my career is been mostly focused on the study of the fossil record of mammals during the early Cenozoic.
Crew collecting fossil mammals in Wyoming.
I study fossils stratigraphic occurrences, their systematic relationships, taphonomic preservation, and functional morphology. Stemming from my dissertation research, I’ve been interested in the effect of climate change on the extinction and distribution of fossil mammals in the intermountain basins of the Tristate area of Utah, Colorado and Wyoming. My research has been published in leading paleontology journals, such as the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology, and Paleontology Contributions. I conduct summer field research in the Uinta, Washakie, and Piceance Creek Basins.
Badlands of the Washakie Basin of Wyoming one of the great places I spend my summers looking for fossils.
I have been the principle advisor of six graduate students who work on a variety of geology research projects in northeastern Utah. I am also responsible for the geology laboratory in Vernal Utah on the Uintah Basin Campus. The geology laboratory provides petrologic analysis of geological samples, and is equip with educational material for the teaching of geology laboratory courses. It is also used in fossil preparation, and contains a growing collection of mineral and rock samples from northeastern Utah.
Service
As the sole geology faculty member at the Uintah Basin Campuses, I provide community expertise on geology and paleontology for the communities in northeastern Utah. I work with the Utah Field House Natural History Museum in Vernal, and hosted the 2014 Utah Friends of Paleontology annual meeting at the USU Uintah Basin Campus. I’ve given educational presentations at various local K-12 schools in Ashley Valley, school tours to the geology laboratory, and helped organize the Uintah Basin Summer Science Camp for middle school aged children.
I am engaged in global science outreach through my active YouTube channel, including posting lectures and lessons available to the public.
I have served as an anonymous reviewer for scientific articles and grant proposals through the National Science Foundation, and served on committees with faculty from the Logan Campus.