Rate My Professor Joshua Schmerge

Joshua Schmerge is an Instructional Assistant Professor of Biology in the Department of Biology at the University of Mississippi. He earned a B.S. in Geology from the University of Wyoming in 2007, an M.S. in Geology from the University of Kansas in 2011, and a Ph.D. in Geology from the University of Kansas in 2015. His primary research interests are in the field of vertebrate paleontology, with a focus on the fossil history and functional anatomy of burrowing rodent species. Schmerge has investigated the incisor anatomy of living rodents to better understand their correlation with diet and behavior and to facilitate better interpretation of the lifestyles of extinct rodents. He has studied the convergent evolution of burrowing beavers from the Miocene of the North American Midwest and examined the cranial anatomy and evolutionary relationships of tyrannosaurid theropods to provide insight into the taxonomic validity of the dinosaur Nanotyrannus lancensis.

Key publications include the 2016 paper “Distribution of the dentary groove of theropod dinosaurs: Implications for theropod phylogeny and the validity of the genus Nanotyrannus Bakker et al., 1988” in Cretaceous Research and the 2016 reply paper “When a groove is not a groove: clarification of the appearance of the dentary groove in tyrannosaurid theropods and the distinction between Nanotyrannus and Tyrannosaurus” also in Cretaceous Research. Additional works encompass his 2015 Ph.D. dissertation on euhapsine burrowing behaviors and a 2013 paper on vinegaroon trackway production and morphology in PALAIOS. Schmerge teaches courses including BISC 102 Inquiry Into Life: Human Biology, BISC 206 Human Anatomy and Physiology I, and others focused on human biology and the environment. Prior to his current role, he held positions involving biology instruction at other institutions. His areas of expertise include vertebrate paleontology, and he has received earlier recognitions such as the 2015 Erasmus A. Haworth Outstanding Student Award and first place for an oral presentation at the Kansas Academy of Science Annual Meeting.