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John Luther Cisne

Professor Emeritus

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences

John Luther Cisne
John Luther Cisne

Biography

John Cisne has been a Cornell faculty member since 1973. He graduated from Yale University in 1969 with a B.S. in geology and geophysics, and from the University of Chicago in 1973 with a Ph.D. in geophysical sciences.

Research Interests

Paleobiology: arthropods, population and community paleoecology, biometric study of evolution and stratigraphic distribution Stratigraphy, sedimentology, and tectonics: biostratigraphy, synthetic stratigraphy, basin mechanics, paleobathymetry Paleoceanography: sea-level change, chemical paleoceanography, ocean circulation Earth systems science: “Evolutionary geology” Quantitative analysis of information transmission in evolving systems History of Science

  • Paleontology, Sedimentary Basins & Surface Processes

Teaching Interests

Cisne’s teaching focuses on broad, introductory surveys of earth systems and their evolution, his favorite being EAS 1700, Evolution of the Earth and Life. He is perhaps best known on campus for his one-credit course on dinosaurs (EAS 1109).

Select Publications

  • Cisne, John Luther, R. M. Ziomkowski, Steven J Schwager. 2010. “Mathematical Philology: Entropy Information in Refining Classical Texts’ Reconstruction, and Early Philologists’ Anticipation of Information Theory.” PLoS One 5(1).

  • Cisne, John Luther. 2009. “Stereoscopic comparison as the long-lost secret to microscopically detailed illumination like the Book of Kells.” Perception 38: 1087-1103.

  • Cisne, John Luther. 2005. “Response to Comment on “How science survived: Medieval manuscripts’ ‘demography’ and classic texts’ extinction'”. Science 310(5754).

  • Cisne, John Luther. 2005. “Treating medieval manuscripts as fossils – Response.” Science 309(5735): 699-+.

  • Cisne, John Luther. 2005. “How science survived: Medieval manuscripts’ “demography” and classic texts’ extinction.” Science 307(5713): 1305-1307.

John L. Cisne's Google Scholar

Select Awards and Honors

  • Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science 1982
  • William Rainey Harper Fellow, University of Chicago 1972
  • American Association of Mineralogical Societies Fellow, American Association of Mineralogical Societies 1972
  • National Science Foundation Fellow, National Science Foundation 1970
  • Woodrow Wilson Fellow 1969

Education

  • B.S., Geology and Geophysics, Yale University 1969
  • Ph.D., Geophysical Engineering, University of Chicago 1973