Prescott J. Vayda
Research Interests
Exceptionally preserved fossils can provide unique and significant information about the biology and taphonomy of an organism. My research focuses on extracting this information from the fossil record. Particularly, I use X-ray Computed Tomography as a nondestructive visualization tool to “virtually prepare” specimens and view internal features such as soft tissues preserved in pyrite. I am also interested in the taphonomic processes that lead to the preservation of non-biomineralized tissues, including the chemistry and microbiology. Additionally, I want to explore applying other technologies as non-destructive techniques for extracting information from the fossil record.
Education
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, expected May 2025
Ph.D. – GeosciencesThe Ohio State University, December 2021
Master of Science – Earth Sciences3.990 GPA
The Ohio State University, May 2021
Certificate in Natural History Museum Curation3.990 GPA
The Ohio State University, May 2019
Bachelor of Science – Earth Sciences, Geological Sciences subprogram, with Research DistinctionBachelor of Science – Evolution and Ecology
3.941 GPA
Summa Cum Laude
Dean’s List every semester
Employment
Graduate Teaching Assistant – Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
GEOS 2024 Earth’s Dynamic Systems – Fall 2021- Assisted with running in-person labs, updating lab documents, grading assignments, and facilitating in-class activities during lectures
- Graded homework assignments
Graduate Teaching Assistant – The Ohio State University
EARTHSC 1121 Dynamic Earth – Fall 2020, Summer 2021- Organized hybrid lab setting, taught in-person labs, assigned and graded virtual lab equivalents
- Taught one section of lab, developed virtual equivalents for in-person labs
- Worked with other TAs to convert labs to virtual format and developed new virtual labs
- Transitioned in-person labs to a digital format with onset of COVID-19 Pandemic
Graduate Administrative Assistant – Orton Geological Museum, The Ohio State University – Fall 2019
- Digitally catalog specimens – transfer handwritten catalog information to Specify 7 database
- Leading role in learning how to use the newly implemented catalog database and teaching others to use it
- Develop brochures, banners and logos for marketing and museum store merchandise
- Participate in museum outreach events including national fossil day, guided tours, and teaching geology merit badge
Student Assistant – The Ohio State University
Polar Rock Repository, Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center – Spring 2018-Summer 2019- Identified and described rock specimens for catalog
- Cataloged specimens in an online database
- Photographed specimens for digital collection
- Organized geologic maps
Grader – The Ohio State University
EARTHSC 1108 Gemstones – Fall 2017, Fall 2018
- Graded weekly quizzes and input test scores into class gradebook
Research
Current Project: Morphological Analysis of Salterella from the Shady Dolomite (Cambrian) of Virginia
Advisor: Dr. Shuhai Xiao, Professor of Geobiology, Department of Geosciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
• Reexamine Salterella fossils to determine their phylogenetic affinity
- Examine morphology in thin sections
- Use X-ray Micro Computed Tomography (µCT) to visualize 3D structure of the fossils
- Use Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) to visualize microstructures
Masters Thesis: Exceptionally Preserved Fossils from Some “Ordinary” Ordovician and Devonian Sedimentary Deposits of the United States
Advisor: Dr. Loren Babcock; Professor; School of Earth Sciences, The Ohio State University
Reexamine fossils from the Silica Shale and Cincinnati Group, two “ordinary deposits,” for exceptional preservation and evaluate the depositional environment that facilitated that preservation
- Identify type and degree of preservation in these deposits
- Use X-ray Computed Tomography (XCT) to scan over 400 specimens to view internal preserved structures
- Visually analyze scans using ImageJ software
- Segment scans using Seg3D software
- Create virtual 3D models of scans with Meshmixer software
Undergraduate Thesis: Exceptionally Preserved Fossils from the Silica Shale Lagerstätte (Middle Devonian) of Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana: XCT Reveals Detailed Anatomical Information
Advisor: Dr. Loren Babcock; Professor; School of Earth Sciences, The Ohio State University
Analysis of soft tissues preserved by pyrite in trilobite, brachiopod, and rugose coral fossils from the Devonian Silica Formation.
- Scanned 81 specimens using X-ray Computed Tomography (XCT)
- Visually analyzed scans using ImageJ software
- Segmented scans using Seg3D software
- Created virtual 3D models of scans with Meshmixer software
- 3D printed internal structures observed
Field Experience
EARTHSC 4530 Structural Geology – Four-day trip to study the metamorphic rocks and structural features of the Appalachian Mountains in West Virginia and Maryland. On this trip I learned to use a Brunton compass to take strike and dip measurements, which were then used to create stereonet plots to analyze deformation features.
EARTHSC 5189.01 & 5189.02 Field Geology – Six-week intensive course based in central Utah. The main focus of the course was geologic mapping exercises at a variety of locations. We also took field trips to observe metamorphic core complexes, lava fields, exposed plutons, and large-scale stratigraphic sequences.
EARTHSC 4502 Stratigraphy and Sedimentology – One-day field trip to examine the sedimentary rock sequence in eastern Ohio. We observed the various carbonate and siliciclastic sediments deposited in the western edge of the Appalachian Basin and considered how those changes reflect uplift and weathering rates in the Appalachian Mountains. We also examined the glacial geomorphology as it relates to the different rock units.
EARTHSC 4501 Paleontology – One-day field trip to collect and identify fossils from the Columbus Limestone. We found a variety of taxa including species from brachiopoda, bryozoa, anthozoa, gastropoda, bivalvia, cephalopoda, rostroconchia, trilobita, crinoidea, vertebrata, and rhyniophyta as well as various ichnofossils.
EARTHSC 4618 Advanced Historical Geology – Four-day trip to West Virginia to study the sedimentary sequence of the Appalachian Basin. This class focused on the changes in depositional environment and their relationship to the multiple orogenic events throughout the Paleozoic in eastern North America.
EARTHSC 5621 Introduction to Geochemistry – One-day field trip sampling a series of waterways impacted by acid mine drainage and then remediation. This included water analysis using a YSI multiprobe, additional tests for iron and alkalinity, and collecting water and sediment samples.
EARTHSC 5602.02 Carbonate Depositional Systems – Six-day course on San Salvador Island in the Bahamas studying the unique carbonate systems and depositional environments on the island. This course included a comparative approach of observing modern environments including reefs, beaches and dunes and comparing them to paleoenvironments that record sea level and ecosystem changes.
Club and Personal Trips – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming; Badlands National Park, South Dakota; Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky; Caesar’s Creek State Park, Ohio (Ordovician carbonate platform); Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado; Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado; Glacier National Park, Montana; Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada; Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada; Wrangell-St.Elias National Park, Alaska; Denali National Park, Alaska
Publications
Vayda, Prescott J., Babcock, Loren, E. 2021. XCT Reveals Detailed Soft Tissue Preservation in Pyritized Fossils of the Silica Shale (Middle Devonian) of Ohio. In preparation for submission for publication.
Vayda, Prescott J. 2019. Exceptionally Preserved Fossils from the Silica Shale Lagerstätte (Middle Devonian) of Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana: XCT Reveals Detailed Anatomical Information. Undergraduate Research Thesis, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. Download
Presentations
Vayda, Prescott. 2021. Exceptional Preservation in the Silica Shale (Devonian) of Ohio. Invited presentation for the Marine Invertebrate Paleontology class at Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA.
Vayda, Prescott J., Babcock, Loren E., Oti, Emma A., and Wiedman, Lawrence A. 2019. Exceptional Preservation of Fossils from the Silica Shale (Middle Devonian) of Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana Revealed Using X-Ray Computed Tomography. Oral presentation given at 3rd Annual Great Lakes Student Paleoconference, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. Download
Vayda, Prescott J., Babcock, Loren E., Oti, Emma A., and Wiedman, Lawrence A. 2019. Exceptionally Preserved Fossils from the Silica Shale Lagerstätte (Middle Devonian) of Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana: XCT Reveals Detailed Anatomical Information. Oral presentation given at 11th North American Paleontological Convention in Riverside, California, USA. Session 41. Paleobios 36 (Supplement 1), 360. Download
Vayda, Prescott J., Babcock, Loren E., and Oti, Emma A. 2018. Application of X-Ray Computed Tomography Reveals a (Fool’s) Gold Mine of Exceptionally Preserved Fossils in the Silica Shale (Devonian) of Ohio. Oral presentation given at Geological Society of America Annual Meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. Paper number 3-8. Download
Academic Scholarships and Awards
- National Buckeye Scholar – 2015-2019
- Arts and Sciences Honors Committee Undergraduate Research Scholarship – 2018-2019
- Willis E. Rector Scholarship, School of Earth Sciences – 2018-2019
- Denman Undergraduate Research Forum: 2nd place – 2019
- Buschman Earth Science Scholarship – 2017-2018
- Mathematical and Physical Sciences Alumni Society Scholarship – 2017-2018
- Mayers Summer Research Scholarship – Summer 2018
- Second-year Transformational Experience Program Fellowship – Fall 2017
Activities
- School of Earth Sciences Graduate Student Council, Earth History Representative – Spring 2020-Spring 2021
- School of Earth Sciences Graduate Student Club – Member Fall 2019-Summer 2021, Vice President Summer 2020-Spring 2021
- Planning committee for SES prospective graduate student visit program – Member Fall 2019-Spring 2021
- Natural History Collections Club – Member Fall 2019-Summer 2021
- Sigma Gamma Epsilon National Honor Society for the Earth Sciences – Member Spring 2017- Present, President Fall 2018-Spring 2019
- American Institute of Professional Geologists – Member Fall 2016-Present, Treasurer Fall 2017-Spring 2019
- BuckeyeLAN eSports Club – Planning Committee for video game events and tournaments – Spring 2016-Summer 2021
- Alpha Lambda Delta and Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Societies – Member Spring 2016-Present
- Ohio State University Athletic Band – Tuba – Fall 2015
- Residence Hall Activity Board – Floor Leader, Community Service and Sustainability Committee – Fall 2015-Spring 2017
- Boy Scouts of America – Eagle Scout, Assistant Scoutmaster – Fall 2015-Present