Peter S. Ungar

Peter S. Ungar is a Distinguished Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Environmental Dynamics PhD Program at the University of Arkansas, located within the Fulbright College of Arts & Sciences. He holds affiliations with the Department of Anthropology (ANTH) and directs cross-disciplinary environmental research initiatives. Prior to joining the University of Arkansas in 1995, he taught Gross Anatomy at Johns Hopkins and Duke University medical schools and earned his PhD in Anthropological Sciences from Stony Brook University. His academic journey includes a B.A. from SUNY Binghamton and M.A./Ph.D. from SUNY Stony Brook.

Research focuses on reconstructing diets and ecological adaptations of extinct mammals, including human ancestors, using dental microstructure and wear analysis. Current projects investigate climate change impacts on Arctic mammals and clinical applications of dental studies. He leads the Ungar Lab, fostering global collaborations among researchers and training graduate/undergraduate students. Affiliations include Honorary Research Fellow status at the University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa) and visiting roles at institutions like Flinders University (Australia) and the University of Helsinki (Finland).

His work bridges paleontology, ecology, and human evolution, emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches to understand environmental pressures on species. Professional service includes editorial roles and advisory boards in archival and research data management, though primary contributions lie in anthropological and ecological research domains.