David W. Bapst

David W. Bapst is an Assistant Instructional Professor at Texas A&M University. He holds a PhD in Geophysical Sciences from the University of Chicago (2013) and a BS in Geology from SUNY Buffalo (2007). His research focuses on quantitative paleobiology, computational phylogenetics, and macroevolutionary theory, particularly using graptolites and other fossil groups to study evolutionary processes. Bapst is the primary developer of the paleotree R package, a widely used tool for analyzing fossil phylogenies and simulating evolutionary processes. His work bridges paleontology and computational methods, addressing questions about fossil record incompleteness, divergence timing estimation, and the integration of molecular and morphological data.

Education

• PhD, Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago, 2013
• BS, Geology, State University of New York at Buffalo, 2007

Research Interests

Bapst investigates how evolutionary relationships are inferred from fragmented fossil records, develops stochastic models to account for geological incompleteness, and applies computational methods to macroevolutionary questions. His research uses graptolites and other groups to explore:

• Biostratigraphic applications of fossils in economic geology
• Phylogenetic time-scaling techniques
• Unification of molecular and fossil record data

Publications & Software

He has authored over 20 peer-reviewed articles and maintains the paleotree package, which includes tools for simulating fossil diversification processes and analyzing phylogenetic data. Recent work addresses divergence time estimation without branch lengths and the impact of sampling biases in paleontological datasets.

Labs & Teams

Bapst contributes to open-source scientific software development and collaborates with researchers in computational paleontology. His GitHub repository (https://github.com/dwbapst/paleotree) hosts active development of the paleotree package, featuring simulations of fossil record dynamics and phylogenetic analysis workflows.