Education

• Ph.D (started August 2005; advanced to candidacy May 2008), University of Southern California, Integrative and Evolutionary Biology
• (Thesis advisor: Xiaoming Wang)
• December 2004. B.A., High Honors, University of California, Berkeley. Integrative Biology
• (Thesis advisor: Anthony Barnosky)

Teaching

• Spring 2007. Graduate teaching assistant, General Physiology (BISC 307, University of Southern California)
• Fall 2006. Graduate teaching assistant, Introduction to Ecology (BISC 315, University of Southern California)
• Spring 2006. Graduate teaching assistant, Natural History of California (BISC 369, University of Southern California)
• Fall 2005. Graduate teaching assistant, Organismal Biology and Evolution (BISC 120, University of Southern California)
• Fall 2004 ~ Spring 2005. Undergraduate teaching fellow, GK-12 Exploring California Biodiversity outreach program (Berkeley Natural History Museums)
• Spring 2004. Undergraduate teaching assistant. Behavioral Ecology (Integrative Biology 146, University of California Berkeley)

Awards

• April 2009. Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Patterson Memorial Grant for fieldwork

• April 2009. National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant
• July 2008. National Geographic Society Young Explorers Grant
• June 2008. Interdisciplinary Research Award, Integrative and Evolutionary Biology Program, University of Southern California
• April 2008. United States Fulbright Student Grant to China
• April 2008. Evolving Earth Foundation Student Research Grant
• April 2008. Geological Society of America Student Research Grant
• October 2007. Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Student Travel Grant
• June 2007. National Science Foundation East Asia and Pacific Summer Institute Fellowship
• May 2007. American Society of Mammalogists Grant-In-Aid of Research
• March 2007. National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship
• May 2006. Paleontological Society / National Science Foundation (U.S.) travel grant for the Second International Paleontological Congress
• May 2006. Interdisciplinary Research Award, Integrative and Evolutionary Biology Program, University of Southern California
• April 2006. Teaching Assistant Award, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California
• May 2005. Joseph LeConte Award, Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, in recognition of outstanding achievement in the study of natural history
• June 2004. University of California, Berkeley Biology Fellows Research Grant, funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Professional Societies

• 2008 ~ Present. Student member, Geological Society of America
• 2008 ~ Present. Student member, Paleontological Society
• 2006 ~ Present. Student member, American Society of Mammalogists
• 2004 ~ Present. Student member, Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology
• 2004 ~ Present. Student member, Society of Vertebrate Paleontology

Selected Publications

• Tseng ZJ, O'Connor JK., Wang X., and Prothero DR. in press. The first Old World occurrence of the North American mustelid Sthenictis (Carnivora,
  Mammalia). Geodiversitas.
• Tseng ZJ, Takeuchi G., and Wang X. in press. Discovery of the upper dentition of Barbourofelis whitfordi (Nimravidae, Carnivora) and an evaluation of the genus in California. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 30(1).
• Tseng ZJ and Binder WJ. 2009. Mandibular biomechanics of Crocuta crocuta, Canis lupus, and the late Miocene Dinocrocuta gigantea (Carnivora, Mammalia). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. [PDF]
• Tseng ZJ, Wang X., and Stewart, JD. 2009. A new immigrant mustelid (Carnivora, Mammalia) from the middle Miocene Temblor Formation of central California. PaleoBios 29(1):13-23. [PDF]
• Tseng ZJ. 2009. Cranial function in a late Miocene Dinocrocuta gigantea (Mammalia: Carnivora) revealed by comparative finite element analysis. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 96:51-67. [PDF]
• Tseng ZJ, Jin C-Z, Liu J-Y, Zheng L-T, and Sun C-K. 2008. Fossil Hyaenidae (Mammalia: Carnivora) from Huainan, Anhui Province, China. Vertebrata PalAsiatica 46(2):133-146. [PDF]
• Tseng ZJ, Wang X. 2007. The first record of the late Miocene Hyaenictitherium hyaenoides Zdansky (Carnivora: Hyaenidae) in Inner Mongolia and an evaluation of the genus. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 27(3):699-708. [PDF]
• Tseng ZJ, Chang C-H. 2007. A study of new material of Crocuta crocuta ultima (Carnivora: Hyaenidae) from the Quaternary of Taiwan. Collection and Research 20: 9-19. [PDF]

Poster/Presentation with abstracts

• June 2008. Research talk, annual meeting of the American Society of Mammalogists. "Cranial biomechanics of the spotted hyena Crocuta crocuta and evidence for structural convergence in bone-cracking capability in the skull of the extinct giant percrocutid Dinocrocuta gigantea"
• October 2007. Research talk, annual meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. “Tough New World: Discovery of an unusual immigrant mustelid with crushing dentition from the middle Miocene of coastal California”
• September 2007. Research talk, 24th meeting of the Paleontological Society of China. “Using finite element modeling to study functional morphology of fossil organisms”
• October 2006. Research talk, annual meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. “Paleobiogeography of the genus Hyaenictitherium Kretzoi (Carnivora, Hyaenidae) and the first record of H. hyaenoides Zdansky in Inner Mongolia”
• September 2006. Research talk, eleventh Symposium on Quaternary of Taiwan. “A study of new material of Crocuta crocuta ultima (Carnivora: Hyaenidae) from the Quaternary of Taiwan” [Presented by co-author Chun-Hsiang Chang]
• June 2006. Research talk, second meeting of the International Paleontological Congress. “The first occurrence of the late Miocene Hyaenictitherium hyaenoides Zdansky (Carnivora, Hyaenidae) in Inner Mongolia”
• October 2005. Research talk, annual meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. “Can modern heteromyid species be identified using only dental measurements? A test using extant species with implications for fossil identification”
• January 2005. Poster, annual meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. “Looking for trouble: strike response to conspecific body colors in the peacock mantis shrimp” (Advisor: Sheila Patek)
• November 2004. Poster, annual meeting of the Geological Society of America. “Reciprocal illumination between quantitative and qualitative characters in understanding the systematics of fossil pocket mice (Rodentia: Heteromyidae)” [Presented by co-author Samantha Hopkins]

Other Presentations

• May 2008. Research talk, docent meeting at the Page Museum of Rancho La Brea Fossil Discoveries. "Hyenas, wolves, and sabertooths: current studies in large predators"
• May 2008. Research talk, annual Biology Interdepartmental Graduate Symposium, University of Southern California. "2000000 BC: craniodental adaptation in the running hyena Chasmaporthetes lunensis"
• November 2007. Research talk, Research and Collection seminar. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. "Fieldwork in Tibet: the excitement, the peril, and the reward" [co-presented with Xiaoming Wang]
• July 2007. Research talk, vertebrate paleontology seminar. Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (Beijing, China). “Finite element modeling and its use in evolutionary biology” [In Chinese]
• November 2004. Research talk, vertebrate paleontology seminar. University of California Museum of Paleontology. “Dental characters and their interpretation in heteromyid systematics”
• August 2004. Research talk. Berkeley Biology Fellows Research Symposium. “Quantitative and qualitative characters in the systematics of fossil pocket mice”