Arnold Miller

Arnold Miller is a Professor of Geology at the University of Cincinnati's College of Arts & Sciences, where he has held faculty positions since 1986 (progressing from Assistant to Associate to full Professor). He also serves as Adjunct Curator of Invertebrate Paleontology at the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History. Miller earned his B.S. in Biology-Geology from the University of Rochester (1978), M.S. in Geology from Virginia Tech (1981), and Ph.D. in Geophysical Sciences from the University of Chicago (1986).

His research focuses on evolutionary paleobiology and paleoecology, with specific interests in biodiversity dynamics through geologic time, mass extinctions, diversification events, anthropogenic impacts on coastal ecosystems, numerical modeling of fossil assemblages, and distributions of organisms along environmental gradients. His work integrates field studies of modern systems (e.g., molluscan assemblages in St. Croix and Canary Islands) with deep-time fossil records.

Miller's publications demonstrate strong interdisciplinary trends, combining paleontological methods with conservation biology, climate science, and urban ecology. His recent work frequently addresses anthropogenic impacts on biodiversity, taphonomic processes in modern environments, and the development of novel quantitative approaches for analyzing biogeographic patterns across spatial and temporal scales.

Major Scientific Awards:

• Mwandani (Ally) Award, Black Faculty Association (2018)
• President of The Paleontological Society (2014-2020)
• AAAS Fellow (2013)
• Palaios Best Paper Honorable Mention (2014)
• Paleontological Society Centennial Fellow (2007)
• University of Cincinnati Graduate School Fellow (2004)
• Faculty Achievement Award (1996)
• Journal of Sedimentary Petrology Best Paper (1990)

He has supervised numerous graduate students, including 12 PhD and Master's advisees working on projects spanning paleoecology, biogeography, and conservation biology. Miller secured significant research funding from NASA, NSF, and other agencies, with grants supporting investigations into Phanerozoic biodiversity patterns ($1.4M+ in NASA funding alone), Ordovician-Silurian marine diversifications, and anthropogenic impacts on coastal ecosystems.

Miller established collaborative research networks internationally (e.g., China's Geobiodiversity Database project) and led major scholarly initiatives including the Ninth North American Paleontological Convention (2009). He maintains active field research programs in the Canary Islands, Caribbean, and Appalachian Basin.