Susannah Porter

Susannah Porter is a Professor of Earth Science at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). She has served as Department Chair from 2021 to 2024. Her research focuses on the evolution of early life, particularly the rise of complex eukaryotes and skeletal animals, and the interplay between environmental changes like Snowball Earth events and biological innovation. She holds a B.S. in Mathematics from Yale University (1995) and a Ph.D. in Biology from Harvard University (2002). After a NASA Astrobiology postdoc at UCLA, she joined UCSB in 2003.

Her research interests span biogeochemistry, paleobiology, and geobiology, with a focus on Proterozoic and early Paleozoic ecosystems. Key topics include microfossil preservation, skeletal mineralogy, and environmental drivers of early eukaryote diversification. She has pioneered studies on organic-walled microfossils and their isotopic signatures to reconstruct ancient environments.

• Education:
  • Bachelor’s in Mathematics, Yale University (1995)
  • Ph.D. in Biology, Harvard University (2002)

Porter’s work has been recognized with fellowships from the Paleontological Society and Geological Society of America, as well as UCSB’s Distinguished Teaching Award. Her lab advises graduate students exploring topics like Tonian microfossil diversity and Proterozoic environmental dynamics.

Her collaborative projects include studies on Cambrian Explosion tempo and geochemical proxies for ancient oxygenation. She contributes to initiatives like the Sedimentary Geochemistry and Paleoenvironments Project, advancing interdisciplinary understanding of Earth’s early biosphere.