Rate My Professor David Sunderlin

David Sunderlin is the John H. Markle Professor of Geology (Sedimentology & Paleobiology) and Department Head in the Department of Geology and Environmental Geosciences at Lafayette College, where he has taught for nearly 20 years, including delivering Geology 130 on the history of the natural world every year. He earned a Ph.D. in Geophysical Sciences from the University of Chicago and a B.A. in Geology and Biology from Colgate University. As a natural historian integrating paleoecology, geology, and paleoclimatology, Sunderlin specializes in paleontology and paleoecology, stratigraphy and basin analysis, terrestrial ecosystem evolution, islands and biotic effects of isolation, paleoenvironments, and the geology of Alaska. His research encompasses fossil studies from Alaska, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, as well as modern microplastics from North American beaches. Recent fieldwork includes a June expedition to a remote island in southeast Alaska's Tongass National Forest for previously unstudied fossil and geological data collection. He also holds an affiliation as faculty in the Department of Geosciences at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Sunderlin has been recognized with the James P. Crawford Award in 2013 for outstanding classroom instruction, the Student Government Superior Teaching Award, and selection as a 2020-2021 CITLS Distinguished Teaching Fellow. He serves as Lafayette's NCAA Faculty Athletics Representative, leads field trips such as those to Alaska and local sites, conducts public tours like the geologic exploration of Easton Cemetery, provides expert commentary for outlets including Live Science, and was chosen to deliver the Last Lecture in 2025. His scholarly contributions include over 55 publications cited more than 620 times, with key works such as 'Stitch in the Ditch: Nutzotin Mountains (Alaska) Fluvial Strata and a Dike Record...' (Geosphere, 2020), 'Biological Inclusions in Amber from the Paleogene Chickaloon Formation of Alaska' (American Museum Novitates, 2018), 'Paleoenvironment and Paleoecology of a Late Paleocene Terrestrial High-Latitude Braided-Fluvial System' (2014), 'Stratigraphy, Paleoflora, and Tectonic Setting of the Paleogene Sheep Creek Formation' (USGS Professional Paper, 2024), and 'Tracing the Tropics Across Land and Sea: Permian to Present' (2003). These publications advance understanding of ancient high-latitude ecosystems, tectonostratigraphic evolution, and paleoecological dynamics, particularly in Cretaceous environments like those in Denali National Park.