Staff profile
Professor Martin Smith
Professor in Palaeontology and Director of Education
| Affiliation |
|---|
| Professor in Palaeontology and Director of Education in the Department of Earth Sciences |
Biography
I am interested in the origins of the modern animal groups. My work includes the study of unusual organisms from Burgess Shale-type deposits and their microscopic counterparts, the Small Carbonaceous Fossils. I also have an interest in the preservation of these remarkable fossils, and the mathematical techniques used to reconstruct evolutionary history from palaeontological evidence.
Administrative roles
2022–2025: Director of Education, Department of Earth Sciences
Career history
2015–present: Department of Earth Sciences, Durham University
2012–2015: Junior Research Fellow, Clare College, University of Cambridge
2012: PhD, University of Toronto
2008: MA & MSc, Sidney Sussex College, University of Cambridge
Research opportunities
I am currently inviting proposals for postgraduate research projects in palaeobiology and phylogenetic methods (Masters by Research or PhD). Please get in touch for more information.
Undergraduate research projects are also available for Durham and non-Durham students. Palaeontological Association bursaries may be of interest to potential applicants.
Research software
MapTrees: interactive user interface for the creation, visualization and evaluation of tree landscapes.
TreeTools: utilities for the creation, modification and analysis of phylogenetic trees.
TreeSearch: phylogenetic tree search in R, with an appropriate treatment of ‘inapplicable’ characters.
Rogue: Identify rogue taxa to improve consensus trees.