Facts:   - prizes: charles schuchert award -lrb- 2004 -rrb-    - work institutions: smithsonian national museum of natural history    - field: paleontology paleobiology      - birth date: 27 september 1964    - name: peter j. wagner    - nationality: united states    - birth place: united states    - alma mater: bs university of chicago university of michigan ms michigan state university phd   Based on these bullet points, write a short biography describing the life of peter j. wagner .
peter j. wagner -lrb- born 27 september 1964 -rrb- is a paleontologist and curator at the smithsonian institution .he received his ph.d. in geophysical sciences from the university of chicago in 1995 , conducted postdoctoral research at the smithsonian institution , and served as a curator at the field museum of natural history from 1996 through 2007 .he was given the charles schuchert award of the paleontological society in 2004 .his research focuses on macroevolution and paleoecology , especially as regards the systematics , evolutionary dynamics , morphology , and distribution of paleozoic molluscs .he has published extensively in such journals as paleobiology , systematic biology , and science and is a contributor to the paleobiology database .