Paleontology is the study of past life as preserved in fossils. It involves reconstructing the life habits, environmental habitats, ecological relationships and evolutionary histories of extinct organisms, often using sophisticated computer or geochemical techniques. Paleontologists in ESS research the early evolution of microbial life, mass extinctions, marine fossils as monitors of rapid climate change and the diets of extinct mammals.

Faculty Members:
Roger Buick
Elizabeth Nesbitt
John Rensberger
Peter Ward