Professional Titles

• Curator of Invertebrate Paleontology, Virginia Museum of Natural History
• Director, VMNH Paleontological Field Trips
• Cenozoic Mollusk Specialist

Education

• B. S. in Biology, Frederick College, 196
• M.S. in Geology, University of South Carolina, 1977
• Ph.D. in Geology, University of South Carolina, 1980

 Professional Experience

• Virginia Department of Agriculture, 1965-1968
• Maryland Academy of Science, 1968-1970
• United States Geological Survey, 1970-1989
• Virginia Museum of Natural History, 1989-Present
• Member, Paleontology Society
• Member, Geological Society of America
• Member, Carolina Geological Society
• Adjunct Professor, Old Dominion University
• Adjunct Professor, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University

Research Interests

• Cenozoic mollusks of the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains
• Molluscan biostratigraphy
• Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain lithostratigraphy
• Evolution of molluscan lineages
• Cenozoic invertebrate collections and field work--Massachusetts-Texas

Selected Publications

• 1975 Ward L. W. and Blackwelder, B. W., Chesapecten, a new genus of Pectinidae (Mollusca: Bivalvia) from the Miocene and Pliocene of eastern North America: U. S. Geol. Surv. Prof. Paper 861, 24 p., 7 pls.
• 1978 Ward, L. W., Lawrence, D. R., and Blackwelder, B. W., Stratigraphic revision of the middle Eocene, Oligocene, and lower Miocene-Atlantic Coastal Plain of North Carolina:
  U. S. Geol. Surv. Bull. 1457-F, 23 p.
• 1979 Ward, L. W., Blackwelder, B. W., Gohn, G. S., and Poore, R. Z., Stratigraphic revision of Eocene, Oligocene, and lower Miocene of South Carolina: Geologic Nos 23(1):2-32.
• 1980 Ward, L. W., and Blackwelder, B. W., Stratigraphic revision of upper Miocene
  and lower Pliocene beds of the Chesapeake Group-Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain:
  U. S. Geol. Surv. Bull. 1482-D, 61 p.
• 1984 Ward L. W., and Krafft, K., editors, Stratigraphy and paleontology of the outcropping Tertiary beds in the Pamunkey River region, central Virginia Coastal Plain: Atlantic Coastal Plain Geological Assoc., Guidebook for 1984 Field Trip, 280 p., 49 pls.
• 1986 Ward, L. W., Stratigraphy and characteristic mollusks of the Pamunkey Group (Lower Tertiary) and the Old Church Formation of the Chesapeake Group-Virginia Coastal Plain: U. S. Geol. Surv. Prof. paper 1346, 78p., 6 pls.
• 1987 Ward, L. W., and Blackwelder, B. W., Upper Pliocene and lower
  Pleistocene mollusks of the Lee Creek mine, Aurora, North Carolina, in Ray,
  C. E., editor, Geology and Paleontology of the Lee Creek Mine, North Carolina,
  II: Smithson, Contrib. Paleobiol. 61:113-283.
• 1988 Ward, L. W., and Gilinsky, N. L., Ecphora (Gastropoda: Muricidae) from the Chesapeake Group of Maryland and Virginia. Notulae Naturae, 469:1-21.
• 1989 Ward, L. W., Tertiary stratigraphy of the Central Virginia Coastal Plain in Upper Cretaceous and Cenozoic Geology of the Southeastern Atlantic Coastal Plain: 28th   International Geological Congress, Field Trip Guidebook T172, Washington, DC, p. 63-90.
• 1992 Ward, L. W., Molluscan Biostratigraphy of the Miocene, Middle
  Atlantic Coastal plain of North America: VMNH Memoir 2, 220 p., 26 pls.
• 1993 Ward, L. W., and Gilinsky, N. L., Molluscan assemblage of the Chowan River Formation, Part A. Biostratigraphic analysis of the Chowan River Formation
  (upper Pliocene) and adjoining units, the Moore House Member
  of theYorktown Formation (upper Pliocene) and the James City Formation
  (lower Pleistocene): Virginia Museum of Natural History Memoir 3, part A., 33 p.
• 1998 Ward, L. W., An early Miocene molluscan fauna from Delaware, Delaware Geological Survey, Special Publication No. 21, p. 59-131, pls. 1-19