Rate My Professor David Varricchio

Varricchio has authored or co-authored more than 80 peer-reviewed publications in prestigious journals including Nature, Science, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, and Palaios. Key works include 'Nest and egg clutches of the dinosaur Troodon formosus and the evolution of avian reproductive traits' (Nature, 1997), 'First trace and burrow modification by modern miel ants, Atta spp.: Implications for reconstructing the nested paleoenvironment of the Two Medicine Formation' (Palaios, 2008), 'Chthonic severance: dinosaur eggs of the Mesozoic, the significance of partially buried eggs and contact incubation precursors' (Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 2023), and 'Osteology and phylogenetic relationships of the mid-Cretaceous neornithischian dinosaur Oryctodromeus cubicularis Varricchio, 2007' (2024). In 2021, he received the Cox Faculty Award for Creative Scholarship and Teaching, recognizing his contributions to dinosaur paleontology research and oversight of the paleontology degree program, one of the largest in the department. Varricchio teaches all required undergraduate and graduate paleontology courses, which he largely developed, including geobiology, paleo lab techniques, and dinosaur reproduction. His work has elevated Montana State University's international visibility in dinosaur paleontology, building on the region's legacy.