Bruce S. Lieberman



Bruce Smith Lieberman (born in 1966 in New York City) is an American paleontologist.

Lieberman received his A.B 1988 summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard University and Stephen Jay Gould was his undergraduate advisor. He received a Master's in 1991 and a Doctorate, in 1994 from Columbia University, and Niles Eldredge was his graduate advisor. During graduate school he was based at the American Museum of Natural History. He did a 2-year post-doctoral fellowship with Elisabeth Vrba at Yale University and a 2-year post-doctoral fellowship with Andrew Knoll at Harvard University. Since 1998 he has been on the faculty at the University of Kansas where he is a professor in the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, and a Senior Curator in the University of Kansas Natural History Museum & Biodiversity Institute. He is also Director of the Paleontological Institute and editor-in-chief of the Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology. He spent a year serving as a program officer at the National Science Foundation.

His research especially focuses on macroevolution,   and he has considered various topics in this area including support for punctuated equilibrium and the related issue of mechanisms causing stasis,  the evidence for species selection,  and the nature of evolutionary radiations. Other topics he has considered in his research include mass extinctions,    trilobites,  the Cambrian explosion,   paleoecology, phylogenetics, and biogeography. He has been involved with the digitization of invertebrate paleontology collections, including helping to develop apps for fossil identification. In 2002 he received the Charles Schuchert Award from the Paleontological Society. Graduate students advised by him include Alycia Stigall, Erin Saupe, and Cori Myers. Post-doctoral scholars advised by him include Luke Strotz, Michelle Casey, Jonathan Hendricks, Claudia Nunez-Penichet, Rachel Moore, and Rhi LaVine.

Partial list of Trilobite genera named and revised
Bellacartwrightia Lieberman & Kloc, 1997 - a Devonian trilobite (Acastidae) from North America; Bolbolenellus; Bouleia; Bristolia; Cambropallas; Dechenella; Eldredgeia; Fallotaspis; Gerastos; Greenops; Holmia; Kjerulfia; Malvinella; Mesonacis; Metacryphaeus; Milesdavis Lieberman, 1994 - a Devonian trilobite (Proetidae) from Bohemia; Nevadia; Olenellus; Peachella; Proetus; Schmidtiellus; Tolkienia Lieberman & Kloc, 1997 - a Devonian trilobite (Acastidae).