John W. Merck, Jr.

John W. Merck, Jr. is a Principal Lecturer and Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Geology at the University of Maryland, College Park. He also serves as Associate Director of the College Park Scholars - Science and Global Change Program. He holds a Ph.D. from The University of Texas at Austin (1997). His research focuses on the evolutionary history of Mesozoic marine reptiles (e.g., ichthyosaurs, placodonts, sauropterygians), testing cladistic phylogeny methods using digital simulations, and integrating CT scan data for fossil morphological analysis. He maintains offices in the Geology Building (GEO 1119) and Centreville Hall (CEN 1218), with a mailing address at 8000 Regents Drive, College Park, MD 20742.

Key affiliations include leadership roles in undergraduate geology education and the Science and Global Change Program. His work bridges paleontological research with computational methods, emphasizing empirical validation of evolutionary models. No awards or grants are explicitly listed in the provided materials.