Joshua Zimmt is a Ph.D. candidate in Integrative Biology, working at the University of California Museum of Paleontology. He is studying the link between climate change and mass extinction in the fossil record, combining paleobiological, geological, and geochemical data to produce new insights into the history of life. His dissertation research focuses on the exceptional fossil and rock records on Anticosti Island, Quebec, to understand how climate change may have caused the Late Ordovician mass extinction, one of the largest known extinction events. By producing a better understanding of this critical interval in the history of life, Joshua’s research will serve as a case study of global change that can be used to better understand our rapidly changing modern world.
Joshua holds a B.Sc. in geology from the College of William & Mary. In addition to his research, he is the student lead on the ACCESS program, an initiative by the University of California Museum of Paleontology to bring engaging paleobiology and geology lessons to community college classrooms around the country.
