About Dr. Joseph Hartman

Joseph Hartman is a Professor and member of the Graduate Faculty in the Department of Geology and Geological Engineering at the University of North Dakota (UND). He is also a Paleontologist / Geologist and Research Associate with the Museum of the Rockies, Montana State University. He received his Ph.D. in Geology from the University of Minnesota in 1984, his M.S. in Geology from the same institution in 1976, and his B.S. in Geology from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1972.

Joseph teaches courses in paleontology and Earth history, including Earth Through Time, Introduction to Paleontology, Mass Extinctions, Invertebrate Paleontology (Sections 1, 2, 3), Vertebrate Paleontology (Sections 1, 2, 3), Paleoecology, Paleontology in the Geological Sciences, Taxonomy, and topic specific courses.

Areas of Interest and Expertise

Joseph's principal areas of interest and expertise focus on the physical and historical geology and stratigraphy of Upper Cretaceous and Paleogene strata of the northern Great Plains, with specialization in nonmarine molluscan studies in the Western Interior of North America. He has authored and coauthored publications on these and other subjects. Emphasis includes research in molluscan taxonomy, biostratigraphy, and paleobiogeography; lignite stratigraphy; land–mammal biochronology; and computer applications in paleontology and stratigraphy, including data management and analysis, geographic information system (GIS) technologies, and video imaging.

Extensive molluscan collections including specimens from the Upper Cretaceous and Paleogene strata of the Williston (North Dakota–Montana), Crazy Mountains (Montana), and San Juan (New Mexico) Basins are maintained for research in ongoing studies. Recent and ongoing international studies include paleobiogeographic and biochronologic research in Upper Cretaceous strata of Madagascar and India.

A project of public and educational interest is the Web-based geoscience digital image library GeoDIL. This project is a collaborative effort with UND's Department of Geology and Geological Engineering (Dexter Perkins and Joseph Hartman), and the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences (Henry Borysewicz ). With funding from the National Science Foundation and the University of North Dakota, users can submit, search, browse, link, and construct virtual carousels of images in the library for educational purposes (see www.GeoDIL.com).

Joseph has supported his research and undergraduate and graduate student education through grants and contracts from the National Science Foundation, U.S. Bureau of Mines, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Geological Survey, and National Geographic Society. Dr. Hartman is a member of several professional organizations, including the Geological Society of America, the Paleontological Society, the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, and the Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists, Sigma Xi, and is past president of the North Dakota Academy of Science.

Recent Grant/Contract Activity

• NSF Research Grant, Red River of the North Geoscience Education Pilot Project, 2000–2002 (with Dan Daly and Charlene Crocker)
• NSF Research Grant, A University of North Dakota Geoscience Digital Library (GeoDIL), 2000–2002 (Dexter Perkins PI, Hartman Co-PI, with Henry Borysewicz)
• U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Coal Resources Data System Research Contract, Stratigraphic Evaluation and Entry of North Dakota Lignite Data into the National Coal Resources Data System, 1993–2002
• Museum of the Rockies (a joint venture project with DOE) Research Contract, An important record of climate change at the end of the Cretaceous: A model for interpretation of paleoecological data for present-day global climate change (Fort Peck Hell Creek Project), 2000–2001 (in collaboration with John Horner, Museum of the Rockies and William Clemens, University of California-Berkeley)
• DOE Research Contract, Strategic Studies: Climate Change Initiatives, 2000–2001
• NSF Research Grant, Late Cretaceous Vertebrates of Madagascar: Implications for Gondwanan Biogeography, 1997–2000 (a collaborative research project with D.W. Krause [lead PI] and others)
• UND School of Engineering and Mines Seed Grant, The End-Cretaceous Nonmarine Molluscan Record from Intertrappean Sediments of the Deccan Traps, Peninsular India: Implications for the Timing of Indian-Australian and Eurasian Faunal Interchange and Plate Convergence, 2003–2004
• NSF Research Grant, INGEOS – Indians Into Geological Sciences, Gerla, P.J., lead Co-PI, Hartman, J.H., Co-PI, G. Gangon, Co-PI , 2003–2004
• U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Coal Resources Data System Research Contract, Stratigraphic Evaluation and Entry of North Dakota Lignite Data into the National Coal Resources Data System, 2003–2004
• National Geographic Society, Collaborative Research: Geographic of Biotic Recovery – Paleocene Mammals and Mollusks, and the Environments of Southwestern North Dakota,
• Hartman, J.H., collaborative PI, with J.P. Hunter (lead institution), Ohio State University at Newark, 2006–2007