Professor of Biological Sciences Phil Novack-Gottshall has received a three-year grant from the National Science Foundation for $244,307 through their prestigious Mid-Career Advancement program. Novack-Gottshall’s research (“Ecological opportunity in Phanerozoic marine animals”) will support student research to carry out the first-ever statistical analyses on the ecological history of marine animal life, which will help understand the forces that limit and drive innovation.

As part of the research, Novack-Gottshall will partner with a statistician at Swarthmore College to create new ways to visualize complex data. The grant will support six students of underrepresented backgrounds in Benedictine’s Natural Sciences Summer Research Program (NSSRP), mentored student research during each semester, funds for students to attend national conferences, production of two fossil-themed Discovery Boxes for our Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum, and purchase of high-end computers.