Rate My Professor David Baum

Baum's academic interests encompass plant phylogenetics, conceptual issues in evolution and systematics, the origin of life, and eukaryotic cell evolution. His research explores how evolution generates biological diversity through theoretical and empirical approaches, including laboratory experiments on prebiotic chemical systems and artificial ecosystem selection. Key publications include the textbook Tree Thinking: An Introduction to Phylogenetic Biology (2012, with S. D. Smith), co-editorship of The Princeton Guide to Evolution (2013), "An inside-out origin for the eukaryotic cell" (BMC Biology, 2014, with B. Baum), "The origin and early evolution of life in chemical complexity space" (Journal of Theoretical Biology, 2018), and "Chemical Ecosystem Selection on Mineral Surfaces Reveals long-term dynamics consistent with the spontaneous emergence of mutual catalysis" (Life, 2019). Among his honors are the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship (2007-2008), election as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2006), the Kellett Mid-Career Award (2016), and the Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award (2015). Baum has contributed to numerous editorial boards, including as Co-Editor of The Plant Cell (2006-2012) and Board of Reviewing Editors for Science (2010-2017), and served as President of the Society of Systematic Biology (2021-2023). He teaches courses such as Introductory Biology and advanced evolutionary biology seminars.