CURRICULUM VITAE

Susannah M. Porter Department of Earth Science University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA 93106

EDUCATION

1991-1995: Yale University, BA Mathematics. magna cum laude.

1995-2002: Harvard University, PhD Biology. Advisor: Andrew H. Knoll

POSITIONS HELD

2002-2003: National Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow, NASA Astrobiology Institute, University of California, Los Angeles. Advisor: Bruce Runnegar

2003-present: Assistant Professor, University of California, Santa Barbara. (On maternity leave Fall 2004.)

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

Invited Talks 2003: UCLA Center for the Study of the Evolution and Origin of Life. 2004: NASA/CIAR workshop on “Lateral gene transfer and the origins of eukaryotes”. 2004: GeoBiology Minisymposium, Early Evolution of Microbial Eukaryotes. Agouron Institute, Geobiology summer course. 2004: Topical session: Protistan Paleobiodiversity: Understanding Evolutionary Patterns. Geological Society of America Annual Meeting. 2004: Paleontological Society Short Course, Biological Revolutions in the Neoproterozoic and Cambrian. Geological Society of America Annual Meeting. 2005: University of Southern California, Departmental Seminar Series. 2005: California Institute of Technology, Graduate Student Seminar Series. 2005: University of California at Davis, Departmental Seminar Series. 2005: Stanford University, Seminar Series on Biosignatures. 2005: University of Washington, Departmental Seminar Series. 2006: Committee on the Origin and Evolution of Life, Mars Astrobiology Task Group, Space Studies Board—Board on Life Sciences (National Research Council). Invited Speaker “The History of Terrestrial Life”. 2006: University of California at Riverside, Departmental Seminar Series. 2006: University of Washington, Departmental Seminar Series 2007: Yale University, Departmental Seminar Series 2007: Stanford University, Paleobiology Seminar Series (planned)

Peer Review 2003: NASA Exobiology Panel Review Member 2003-present: Reviewed proposals for the National Science Foundation and manuscripts for Journal of ; Paleobiology; Science; Palaeontology; Lethaia; Chemical Geology; Geological Journal; Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh; Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, and various edited volumes.

Workshops 2003: Member of NSF-sponsored workshop on “Calibration of the Geological Timescale” 2004: Member of NASA/CIAR workshop, “Lateral gene transfer and the origins of eukaryotes”. 2006: Member of FAMED Database Project ( and Molecular Divergence Times for the Tree of Life), funded by NESCent,

AWARDS

2006: Best Faculty of the Year, voted by UCSB Earth Science Graduate Students. 2006: Best Professor of the Year, voted by UCSB Earth Science Majors. 1995, 2000, 2001: Derek Bok Certificate of Distinction in Teaching, Harvard University. 1996-1999: NSF Graduate Student Fellowship. 1995: Rhodes Scholar regional finalist. 1995: Anthony D. Stanley Prize, awarded for excellence in pure and applied mathematics. Yale College. 1995: US Rowing Academic All-American, first team. 1994: Francis Gordon Brown ‘01 Yale College Prize. 1994: Elected to Phi Beta Kappa 1991: Presidential Scholar.

FIELD EXPERIENCE

2006: Meishucunian sections, Yunnan, China. Cambrian paleontology. 2003: Uinta Mountain Group, Utah. Precambrian Paleontology. 2002: Vindhyan Basin, Uttar Pradesh & Madhya Pradesh, India. Precambrian paleontology. 2002: Friday Harbor Labs, WA, Marine algae. 1999: Volta Basin, western Africa, Carbonate chemostratigraphy. 1998, 1999: Chuar Group, Grand Canyon, AZ. Precambrian paleontology. 1998: Georgina Basin, Queensland, Australia. Cambrian paleontology. 1998: MacArthur Basin, Northern Territory, Australia. Paleoproterozoic paleontology. 1998: Guadalupe Mountains, TX. Sequence stratigraphy of Permian reef complex.

1997: Friday Harbor Labs, WA. Marine Invertebrate Biology. 1997: Inner Mongolia, China. Eolian stratigraphy and Quaternary climate change. 1994: Olorgesailie, Kenya. Hominid paleontology. 1993: Tibetan Plateau, China. Loess stratigraphy and Quaternary climate change. 1989: Mauna Kea, Hawaii. Volcanic loess and Quaternary climate change.

STUDENTS & POSTDOCTORAL ASSOCIATES

Ms. Robin Nagy, undergraduate research, Spring-Summer, 2003 Ms. Amy Luong, undergraduate research, Winter-Spring, 2004. Ms. Tiffany Satoorian, undergraduate research, Winter-Spring, 2005. Mr. Ryan Wopschall, undergraduate research, Summer, 2005. Ms. Jennifer Osborne, undergraduate research, 2005-2006. Ms. Tova Michlin, undergraduate research, Spring, 2006. Ms. Kayla Pettit, undergraduate research, Fall, 2005-present. Mr. Mitchell Prante, undergraduate research, Fall, 2005-present

Ms. Robin Nagy, Masters Student, Fall, 2005 - present.

Dr. Michael Vendrasco, Postdoctoral Associate, Fall, 2005 – present.

FUNDING

Academic Senate Research Grant, UCSB. 2004-5. $5K.

Dynamical change in global biogeochemical cycles accompanying early animal evolution (PI: Daniel Rothman, MIT). National Science Foundation--Biocomplexity in the Environment: Coupled Biogeochemical Cycles (Program Director: Rachael Craig; Tel: 703-292-8233; E-mail: [email protected]). Performance Period: August1st, 2004 to September 30th, 2009. $1,699,433 Role: Collaborator ($50K).

From Genes to Stars: An Integrated Study of the Prospects for Life in the Cosmos (PI: Edward Young, UCLA). NASA Astrobiology Institute (Director: Bruce Runnegar; Tel: 310-206-1738; E-mail: [email protected]). Performance Period: October 01, 2003 to September 30, 2008. Total Award Amount: $5,000,000. Role: Collaborator ($40K).

Using skeletal microstructure to understand early animal biomineralization. NASA Astrobiology: Exobiology and Evolutionary Biology (Program Officer: Michael H. New; Tel: 202-358-1766; E-mail: [email protected]). Performance Period: September 22, 2005- September 21, 2007. $190,939. Role: PI.

Instructional Improvement Proposal to Revise Laboratory Manual for Geological Sciences 7, Age of Dinosaurs. UCSB. 2005. Co-PI. $3,079.

Investigating the influence of seawater chemistry on the evolution of carbonate biomineralization. UCSB Academic Senate Faculty Research Grant. Role: PI. $4,000. (Pending).

TEACHING

(Teaching evaluation scores are noted; they fall within a range of 1-5, with 1 the highest.)

Geology 7 & 7 Honors: The Age of Dinosaurs • ~200 students; Scores: 1.4, 1.5

Geology 111 & 111 Lab: Principles of Paleontology • ~40 students; Scores: 1.7, 1.5

Geology 144/244: Invertebrate Paleobiology • ~20 students; score: 1.0

Geology 159C/259C: Early Life and its Environmental Context • ~25 students; score: 1.4

Geology 270: Graduate Seminar on the ‘Snowball Earth’ • 7 students; score: 1.0

Geology 160/260: Paleo Journal Club • ~15 students (no score)

OUTREACH ACTIVITIES

• Classroom demonstrations/talks at local high schools, 1999-2000. • Invited participant in a Harvard University Interfaculty/Student Discussion Group on Diversity in Science and Technology, 2001. • Panel Member for Women in Science and Engineering at UCSB, 2004. • Ran workshop on dinosaurs for UCSB’s Children’s Day, 2006.

PUBLICATIONS

Peer-reviewed

1. Porter, S. M., and A. H. Knoll. 2000. Neoproterozoic testate amoebae: evidence from vase-shaped microfossils in the Chuar Group, Grand Canyon. Paleobiology 26(3): 360- 385.

2. Karlstrom, K. E., S. A. Bowring, C. M. Dehler, A. H. Knoll, S. M. Porter, D. J. Des Marais, A. B. Weil, Z. D. Sharp, J. W. Geissman, M. B. Elrick, J. M. Timmons, L. J. Crossey, and K. L. Davidek. 2000. Chuar Group of the Grand Canyon: record of breakup of Rodinia, associated change in the global carbon cycle, and ecosystem expansion by 740 Ma. Geology 28: 619-622.

3. Porter, S. M., R. Meisterfeld, and A. H. Knoll. 2003. Vase-shaped microfossils from the Neoproterozoic Chuar Group, Grand Canyon: a classification guided by modern testate amoebae. Journal of Paleontology 77(3): 409-429.

4. Porter, S. M. 2004. Halkieriids in Middle Cambrian phosphatic limestones from Australia. Journal of Paleontology 78(3): 574-590.

5. Porter, S. M., A. H. Knoll, and P. Affaton. 2004. Chemostratigraphy of a Neoproterozoic ‘cap’ carbonate from the Volta Basin, West Africa. Precambrian Research 130: 99-112.

6. Porter, S. M. 2004. Closing the ‘phosphatization window’: implications for interpreting the record of small shelly . PALAIOS 78: 178-183.

7. Porter, S. M. 2004. The fossil record of early eukaryotic diversification. Paleontological Society Papers 10: 35-50.

8. Porter, S.M. 2006. The early fossil record of heterotrophic protists. In Xiao, S. and Kaufman, A.J. (eds.): Neoproterozoic Geobiology. Topics in Geobiology Series: 1-21.

9. Dehler, C.M., Porter, S.M., Sprinkel, D.A., DeGrey, L.D. 2007. The Neoproterozoic Uinta Mountain Group revisited: a synthesis of recent work on the Red Pine Shale and undivided clastic strata, northeastern Utah. In Link, P.K., & Lewis, R. (eds.): Proterozoic Geology of Western North America and Siberia. SEPM Special Publication 86.

10. Porter, S. M. In Press. Skeletal microstructure indicates a close relationship between halkieriids and chancelloriids. Palaeontology.

11. Porter, S. M. In Press. Seawater chemistry and the evolution of carbonate biomineralization. Science.

Non-peer reviewed

1. Dehler, C., Porter, S., and K. Karlstrom. 1999. Grand Canyon Supergroup. Grand Canyon River Guides 12: 31-35.

2. Nagy, R.M., and S. M. Porter. 2005. Paleontology of the Neoproterozoic Uinta Mountain Group. Dehler, C.M., Pederson, J.L., Sprinkel, D.A., and Kowallis, B.J. (eds.) Uinta Mountain Geology. Utah Geological Association Publication 33.

3. Dehler, C.M, D.A. Sprinkel, and S. M. Porter. 2005. Neoproterozoic Uinta Mountain Group of northeastern Utah: pre-Sturtian geographic, tectonic, and biologic evolution. Geological Society of America Field Guide 6.