Rate My Professor David Varricchio

David Varricchio is a Professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at Montana State University, where he specializes in Geoscience with research focused on paleobiology, taphonomy, and ichnology. He earned his B.S. from Cornell University in 1984, M.S. from the University of Georgia in 1989, and Ph.D. in Biology from Montana State University in 1995. Varricchio first came to Montana State University in 1989 as a graduate student studying dinosaurs under Jack Horner and joined the faculty in 2002. His field-based research explores the interface between biologic and geologic processes, particularly reproductive, burrowing, and herding behaviors in dinosaurs. Notable discoveries include the burrowing dinosaur Oryctodromeus cubicularis in 2007, evidence of air sacs in a new theropod species, and ancient iguana-like lizards, crocodyliforms, and turtles from Montana formations. He has led expeditions uncovering diverse dinosaur assemblages in Idaho and contributed to understanding dinosaur nesting and incubation, such as contact incubation of partially buried eggs demonstrated feasible in studies from 2020.

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.