Dr. James Kerr

Photo of James Kerr

Dr. James Kerr

Assistant Professor of Geology


School: Columbian College of Arts and Sciences

Department: Biological Sciences

Bell Hall 2029 G Street, NW Washington DC 20052

 My research and teaching are on topics relating to geologic history with focuses on paleobiology and paleoecology, reconstruction of past environments, mass extinctions, and evidence for interactions between organisms accessible in the fossil record. My current research uses rock from the Appalachian Basin representing the time of the Late Devonian mass extinction and focuses on the differential effects of environmental change and community turnover on a suite of organisms that encrusted and bored the shells of marine animals.

Courses Taught: Historical Geology, Physical Geology, Sedimentology and Stratigraphy

Areas of Expertise: invertebrate paleontology, extinction events, paleoecology


PhD, University of Connecticut