Jonathan Payne

Jonathan Payne is the Dorrell William Kirby Professor at Stanford University, holding appointments as Professor of Earth & Planetary Sciences and Professor (by courtesy) of Biology. He serves as Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment. His research focuses on the interplay between environmental change and biological evolution in the fossil record, particularly mass extinctions and marine ecosystem dynamics.

• Ph.D., Harvard University (2005)
• A.M., Harvard University (2002)
• B.A., Williams College (1997)

Payne's work examines mass extinction causation through geochemical-paleontological records in China, Italy, Turkey, and Japan, and employs global fossil occurrence datasets to study extinction selectivity and body size evolution. His 2022 PNAS article on temperature-size scaling in aquatic organisms and 2020 Science study on marine clade dominance via extinction resistance highlight his interdisciplinary approach combining climate modeling, energetic theory, and macroevolutionary analysis.

Scientific accolades include:

• Fellow, Geological Society of America (2018)
• Allan V. Cox Medal (2015)
• Charles Schuchert Award (2015)
• NSF CAREER Award (2012)
• National Defense Science and Engineering Fellowship (1999-2002)

He advises doctoral students across Earth Sciences and Biology programs, and has mentored over 100 high school and undergraduate researchers. Payne teaches historical geology, invertebrate paleobiology, and graduate-level courses in geobiology and carbonate sedimentology, including his popular course The Sixth Extinction (and the Other Five).