Faculty Profile for Dr. Shelly Jean Wernette

profile photo for Dr. Shelly Jean Wernette
Dr. Shelly Jean Wernette
Asst Professor of Instruction — Dept of Geography & Environmntl Studies
phone: (512) 245-2170
Scholarly/Creative Work
Grants
Service

Biography Section

Biography and Education

 Dr. Wernette is a many-generation Texan who became interested in geology and paleontology through the state and national parks of Texas and the rest of the United States. She has a BS and MS in geology from the University of Oklahoma and a PhD in geological sciences from The University of California, Riverside.

Teaching Interests

 Earth's fossil record and how it relates to other Earth processes (Historical Geology)
Earth's 4-dimensional (time and space) distribution of materials and how we map and visualize those (structural geology)

Research Interests

 Using the fossil record to better understand Earth's history, especially its tectonic movements over time and how those relate to evolutionary extinctions and diversifications.

Selected Scholarly/Creative Work

  • Wernette, S. J., Hughes, N. C., Myrow, P. M., & Sardsud, A. (2023). Trilobites of Thailand’s Cambrian-Ordovician Tarutao Group and their geological setting. Papers in Palaeontology, 9(5). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/spp2.1516
  • Fortey, R. A., Wernette, S. J., & Hughes, N. C. (2022). Reed’s Ordovician trilobite types from Myanmar (Burma) and western Yunnan Province, China. Zootaxa, 5162(4), 301–356.
  • Hughes, N. C., Peng, S., Harper, D., Myrow, P. M., Pham, N. K., Wernette, S. J., & Zhu, X. (2021). Cambrian and earliest Ordovician fauna and geology of the Sông Đà and adjacent terranes in Việt Nam (Vietnam). Geological Magazine, 159(1), 55–80. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1017/S0016756821000844
  • Wernette, S. J., Hughes, N. C., Myrow, P. M., & Aung, A. K. (2021). Initial description of Cambrian fossils from Myanmar: Late Furongian trilobites from the southern part of Shan State and the Cambrian palaeogeographical affinities of Sibumasu. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 214. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2021.104775
  • Wernette, S. J., Hughes, N. C., Myrow, P. M., & Sardsud, A. (2020). The Furongian (Late Cambrian) trilobite Thalandium’s endemicity reassessed along with a new species of Prosaukia from Ko Tarutao, Thailand. Thai Geoscience Journal, 1(1), 63–82.

Selected Grants

  • Krause, Samantha Marie (Principal), Wernette, Shelly Jean (Co-Principal), Radoman-Shaw, Brandon Gregory (Co-Principal), Kilby, James David (Co-Principal), Smith, Heather Lynn (Co-Principal). From Places to Peoples: A survey of geological materials and human-environment interaction on the Edwards Plateau that prioritizes student learning., National Science Foundation (EMBRACE-EAR growth), Federal, $400000. (Submitted: May 15, 2024). Grant.

Selected Service Activities

Member
International Commission on Stratigraphy, Cambrian Stage 10 Working Group
January 2025-Present
Member
Nontenure Line Faculty Committee
August 2023-Present
Member
Paleontological Society, Sepkoski Committee
January 1, 2023-Present
Consultant on educational materials
John Knox Ranch
April 15, 2022-Present
Volunteer
Heritage Museum of the Texas Hill Country
March 19, 2022-Present