Yale University graduate students and recent PhD graduates are invited to submit one first-authored paper concerning evolution and the fossil record by Friday, April 3, 2026 to the Director’s Office of the Yale Peabody Museum. So long as the paper explicitly addresses the fossil record, the range of questions addressed is open and could include contributions to the philosophy and history of science, theory and methods of phylogenetic inference, biogeography, paleobiology, paleoecology, taphonomy, biostratigraphy, biogeochemical insights into past life, divergence time estimation, biodiversity studies, developmental biology, functional morphology, or conservation biology. Submissions must be either published or in press in a refereed journal. Graduate students in residence in a department at Yale, or past graduates no more than five years after PhD, are eligible. Former winners are not eligible, but papers can be submitted more than once.
The online submission form can be found on the Peabody Museum’s website at peabody.yale.edu/george-gaylord-simpson-prize. A copy of the paper must be uploaded as part of the entry.
Winners will be notified via email and will be featured on the Simpson Prize website listed above.
Jingjun Liu
Evolution of the iodine cycle and the late stabilization of the Earth's ozone layer
Earth’s ozone layer is a crucial prerequisite for the evolution of complex life on land. This research demonstrates that Earth's evolving marine iodine cycle has fundamentally shaped the stability and abundance of the ozone layer for approximately two billion years following the initial oxygenation of the atmosphere. The resulting elevated flux of UV radiation may have restricted complex life to the ocean and potentially explains the relatively late colonization of multicellular life on land.
J. Liu, D.S. Hardisty, J.F. Kasting, M. Fakhraee, & N.J. Planavsky, Evolution of the iodine cycle and the late stabilization of the Earth’s ozone layer, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 122 (2) e2412898121, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2412898121 (2025).
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Caleb Gordon Limb proportions predict aquatic habits and soft-tissue flippers in extinct amniotes In this paper, we develop a new machine-learning pipeline, trained on >11,000 original measurements, that can predict whether extinct species were highly or fully aquatic and had soft-tissue flippers with >90% accuracy. Using this pipeline, we reconstruct the evolutionary history of aquatic habits in all major groups of seafaring reptiles, revealing unexpectedly complex patterns and constraints governing their marine invasions. Gordon, C. M., Freisem, L. S., Griffin, C. T., Gauthier, J. A., & Bhullar, B.-A. S. (2025). Limb proportions predict aquatic habits and soft-tissue flippers in extinct amniotes. Current Biology, 35(24), 5982-5998.e7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2025.10.068 |
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Elly Goetz Foraminifera as indicators of species invasion: Ammonia confertitesta in Long Island Sound Determining the origin, introduction, and spread of invasive species is essential for future prevention but is often impossible retroactively. Here, we propose Foraminifera, micro-organisms with calcium carbonate shells, as invasion indicators. Our innovative approach leverages interdisciplinary methods (maritime history, paleontology, ecology) to uncover the timing of and reason(s) for the invasion of the invasive Ammonia confertitesta in Long Island Sound. Goetz, E. J., Hull, P. M., Varekamp, J., & Thomas, E. (2025). Foraminifera as indicators of species invasion: Ammonia confertitesta in Long Island Sound. Science Advances, 11(36). https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adv9447 |
| Year | Recipient Name | |
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| 2026 | Jingjun Liu | |
| 2025 |
Chase Brownstein Lisa Freisem Alexander Ruebenstahl |
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| 2024 |
Dalton Meyer |
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| 2023 |
Silvina Slagter |
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| 2022 |
Sophie Westacott |
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2021 |
Jack Shaw |
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2020 |
Michael Hanson Elizabeth Spriggs Ross Anderson |
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2019 |
Jasmina Wiemann Christopher Whalen Daniel Smith-Paredes |
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2018 |
Matteo Fabbri Victoria McCoy |
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2017 |
Matt Davis Nicolas Mongiardino Koch |
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2016 |
Simon Darroch Sarah Federman Allison Hsaing |
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2015 |
Teresa Feo Alex Dornburg |
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2014 |
Rachel Racicot Stephen Chester |
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2013 |
Daniel Field |
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2012 |
Una Farrell |
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2011 |
Daniel Peppe April Dinwiddie |
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2010 |
Eric Sperling Jakob Vinther |
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2009 |
Faysal Bibi |
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2008 |
Jakob Vinther |
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2007 |
Walton Green Brian Moore Erik A. Sperling |
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2006 |
Julia A. Clarke Ian Miller |
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2005 |
Charles D. Bell |
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2004 |
Takanobu Tsuihiji |
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2003 |
James B. Rossie Krister T. Smith |
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2002 |
Dana Royer |
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2001 |
Julia Clarke |
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2000 |
Walter Joyce |
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1998 |
Daniel Brinkman |
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1992 |
Simon Conway Morris |
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1985 |
Christine Janis |
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1984 |
Karl J. Niklas |
Apply Now
For questions, please contact:
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Sung Yun
Senior Administrative Assistant,
Director's Office
+1 203 432 3752
sung.yun@yale.edu
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