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George Mason Graduate Unveils New Whale Species and Sets Sail for Maine's Gulf

Laura Powers
PhD Graduate David Hoppe

David Hoppe’s fascination with whales began millions of years ago—literally. As a recently graduated master’s student in Earth Systems Science at George Mason University, Hoppe spent the last two years immersed in the study of fossil whales and their evolution, working alongside Mark Uhen, one of the world’s leading experts in whale paleontology. After graduation this May, Hoppe will head north to southern Maine to work as a naturalist aboard a whale-watching boat, bringing his love for science directly to the public.

Hoppe’s academic path began at James Madison University, where he earned his undergraduate degree in geology in 2023. Drawn to George Mason specifically to work with Uhen, his thesis focused on describing an extinct species of whale from a fossil found in the Calvert Cliffs of Maryland back in 2008. By comparing this fossil to modern whale remains, Hoppe crafted a detailed anatomical description and had the honor of naming the new species—though the name remains under wraps until his work is published.

Hoppe said his favorite part of graduate school was working as a graduate teaching assistant. He led labs in both historical and physical geology for students of all majors.

“Honestly, teaching has been my favorite part of grad school,” he said. “Especially when you’re working with students who aren’t science majors, and you watch everything start to click for them. We have a lab where we measure dinosaur footprints in the hallway of David King Hall to calculate speed, and you can see students get really into it. That moment when they figure something out—it’s just a beautiful thing.”

Hoppe interned last summer with the Blue Ocean Society, a nonprofit based in coastal New Hampshire, where he served as a research intern on a whale-watching boat collecting data and educating passengers on the whales they were seeing. 

Through that experience, I fell in love with the Gulf of Maine and the work itself,” Hoppe said. “Now I get to do that full-time.”  

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