Sandra J. Carlson is an American invertebrate paleontologist specialized in brachiopods.[1] She is a professor emerita in the department of earth and planetary sciences at the University of California, Davis. She was president of the Paleontological Society in 2013.[2]
Carlson completed a B.S. in earth sciences from the University of California, Santa Cruz.[3] She completed a M.S. and Ph.D. in geological sciences (paleontology) from the University of Michigan. Her 1986 dissertation was titled, Ontogenetic and Evolutionary Trends in the Articulate Brachiopod Hinge Mechanism.[4] Daniel Fisher was Carlson's doctoral advisor.