Mark Uhen

Dr. Mark D. Uhen is an Associate Professor of Geology at George Mason University, and Associate Chair of the Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Earth Sciences. Previous to working at Mason, he was Curator of Paleontology at the Alabama Museum of Natural History, and Head of Research and Collections at Cranbrook Institute of Science. Dr. Uhen is also a Research Associate at the United States National Museum of Natural History, and the Chair of the Executive Committee of the Paleobiology Database. Dr. Uhen received a bachelor of science degree in geology from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, as well as master's and doctoral degrees in geology from the University of Michigan. Dr. Uhen has received research grants from the National Science Foundation, National Geographic Society, and the U.S. National Museum of Natural History. Dr. Uhen's research focuses on the origin and evolution of cetaceans (whales and dolphins), major evolutionary transitions in general, functional morphology, use of stratigraphic data in phylogenetic analysis, and theoretical aspects of diversification. He has published many papers in scientific journals, contributed chapters to edited books, co-authored a book on the evolution of whales, and presented at numerous scientific conferences.