Ph.D.; Finnegan and Marshall Lab Alumni
As a stratigraphic paleobiologist, I develop and apply approaches to the fossil record using sequence stratigraphic principles to understand the interactions between life and the Earth system, primarily through the study of extinction events. To accomplish this, I combine forward modeling and regional field studies of the stratigraphic, fossil, and geochemical records. This approach enables me to complete high-resolution, basin-wide reassessments of the pattern and drivers of major extinction events.
I am currently working to understand the pattern and drivers of the Late Ordovician mass extinction on Anticosti Island (Québec, Canada), which preserves one of the best regional records of this important event. Over the longer term, I am broadly interested in the impact that the availability and structure of the stratigraphic record has on our understanding of the history of life. You can learn more about my research here.
I am also the current student lead on the ACCESS program, a collaborative partnership between the University of California Museum of Paleontology (UCMP) and community college instructors to bring engaging paleo- and geoscience labs to college classrooms around the country. You can read more about the ACCESS program here.
Honors and Awards
- Best Paper Prize 2021, The Palaeontological Association — 2021
- Top 10 Student Geoscience Grant, Geological Society of America — 2019
- Inducted into Sigma Xi, Scientific Research Honors Society — 2018
- Honorable Mention Student Presentation Awards, GSA GBGM — 2016
- Inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, National Honors Society — 2016
Selected Publications
- Zimmt, J.B., S.M. Kidwell, R. Lockwood, and M. Thirlwall. 2022. Strontium isotope stratigraphy reveals 100 ky-scale condensation, beveling, and internal shingling of transgressive shell beds in the Maryland Miocene. Palaios, 37:553–573. Read it
- Zimmt, J.B. and J. Jin. 2022. A new species of Hirnantia (Orthida, Brachiopoda) and its implications for the Hirnantian age of the Ellis Bay Formation, Anticosti Island, eastern Canada. Journal of Paleontology,1–16. Read it
- Zimmt, J.B., S.M. Holland, S. Finnegan, and C.R. Marshall. 2021. Recognizing pulses of extinction from clusters of last occurrences: Palaeontology, v. 64, p. 1-20, https://doi.org/10.1111/pala.12505. Read it
- Monarrez, P.M., J.B. Zimmt, A.M. Clement, W. Gearty, K.M. Kusnerik, J.J. Jacisin III, K.M. Jenkins, A.W. Poust, S.V. Robson, J.A. Sclafani, K.T. Stilson, S.D. Tennakoon, and C.M. Thompson. 2021. Our past creates our present: A brief history of racism in North American paleontology: Paleobiology, p. 1–13, https://doi.org/10.1017/pab.2021.28. Read it
- Marshall, C.R., Latorre, D.V., Wilson, C.J., Frank, T.M., Magoulick, K.M., Zimmt, J.B. and Poust, A.W. 2021. Absolute abundance and preservation rate of Tyrannosaurus rex. Science, 372: 284-287.