Janet Voight

Associate Curator of Invertebrate Zoology

Negaunee Integrative Research Center
Staff - current
Pronouns:She/Her/Hers

Janet Voight, Associate Curator of Zoology, is a specialist in cephalopod mollusks, especially octopuses. In terms of where she works, it is the deep sea. If you work in the deep sea, there are times when you need to be a bit of a generalist, which is how Janet got interested in the wood-boring bivalves, the Xylophagaininae, and their apparent predators, the enigmatic echinoderm, Xyloplax. Discovery reigns supreme in the deep sea, as we know less about it and the animals that live there than we do about the back side of the moon. Janet's work is building the framework that offers to change that situation, that framework of course being based on specimens collected at sea, and available for study at the Field Museum.

Education and Work

Education

  • 1990, Ph.D. University of Arizona, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.
  • 1977, B.S. Iowa State University, Major Biology; Minor Geology.  With Honors

Work

  • 1996-present. Associate Curator - Department of Zoology.  Field Museum of Natural History.
  • 1993-present. Lecturer, University of Chicago.  Committee on Evolutionary Biology.
  • 1990-1996.  Assistant Curator - Department of Zoology.  Field Museum of Natural History.
  • 1982‑1990.  Teaching Assistant, University of Arizona, Tucson.
  • 1979‑1982.  Research Assistant, University of Iowa Hospitals.
  • 1978‑1979.  Laboratory technician, City of Davenport, Iowa.

Accomplishments

See attached publication list

Research Sketch

Interests:

  • Deep Sea Biology and Evolution
  • Cephalopod Evolution & Ecology
  • Wood-boring bivalves of Xylophagainidae
  • Taxonomy and Systematics
  • Deep-Sea Biogeography
  • Quantitative Morphology

Contact

jvoight@fieldmuseum.org

Topics of Interest
Administrative Areas

Related Press Release and Blogs

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Learning Resources

  • Adventures in the Herbarium: Museums and Medicines

    The importance and impact of Field Museum’s African flowering plant specimens are highlighted in two podcasts. These podcasts were written, recorded, and edited by two college interns who worked alongside experts and collections specimens.  Museums and Medicines highlights the impact plant specimens have had on human health and why their conservation is so important.

    Activity|Grades 3-12

  • Being Big on Land

    Learn why being big isn’t always an advantage and find out how mythic creatures like Godzilla and King Kong could never have carried their own weight.

    Video|Grades 3-12

  • Bergmann's Rule | Biomechanics Toolkit

    Uncover how an animal’s size affects its ability to regulate temperature.

    Lesson Plan|Grades 6-8

  • Biodiversity and Ecosystems

    Middle school-aged students will investigate the differences between native and invasive plants and demonstrate their learning by creating a model of a native plant garden.

    Lesson Plan|Grades 6-8