HI.
I'M JOOD.
I STUDY THE HISTORY OF LIFE AND EARTH.
Who is
Jood Al Aswad?
I am a Ph.D. candidate at Stanford University, and I research quantitative paleobiology as part of the Payne Paleobiology Lab.
Understanding how marine ecosystems recovered from these events can help us disentangle which factors contributed to the survivorship of animals post-extinction.
I quantify the biogeographic patterns of survivors and originators post-extinction and pair that with a mechanistic model to explain these patterns with other factors, such as ecology, physiology and oceanic chemistry. Learn more about my research here.
I study how marine ecosystems have changed after mass extinctions.
I certainly found my niche in paleobiology!
Aside from that, I have many passions that drive me and shape who I am. One of my goals is in student outreach within the realm of geosciences. To my knowledge, I am the first female Saudi paleontologist. I also draw digitally and with charcoal, and sometimes use that for science. The magnum opus of my creative endeavors is a high fantasy novel I am in the works of writing and hope to publish someday, and incorporates elements of geology into it!
Education
2019 - Present
Stanford University
Ph.D. Geological Sciences (Paleobiology)
Advised by: Dr. Jon Payne
Projects focus on examining the biogeographic recovery patterns of benthic marine invertebrates after the end-Permian mass extinction, and the taxonomic analysis of mollusks and brachiopod fossils representing the direct aftermath of the end-Permian mass extinction in Saudi Arabia.
2017 - 2019
Cornell University
M.S. Geological Sciences (Stratigraphy and Petrophysics)
Advised by: Dr. Teresa Jordan
Thesis title: "A stratigraphic and petrophysical study of in-situ geothermal reservoir quality of the Cambro-Ordovician subsurface a Cornell University, Ithaca, New York"
2011 - 2016
George Mason University
B.S. Earth Science, concentration in Geology
Advised by: Dr. Linda Hinnov
Research Project: “The harmonic analysis of geophysical phenomena recorded by borehole strainmeters.”
Summer 2021
Friday Harbor Laboratories - University of Washington
Marine Invertebrate Zoology
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
Field Camp
Summer 2015