Alan H. Cheetham is a paleobiologist and curator of invertebrate paleontology at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History. Born in New Mexico, Cheetham received his Ph.D. at Columbia University in 1959 under the guidance of Norman Newell. Much of his research includes testing evolutionary models in the fossil record, particularly the theory of punctuated equilibrium. His research is focused on Cenozoic bryozoans found in deposits located in the Dominican Republic, Panama, Costa Rica, and Venezuela. In November 2001, Cheetham was awarded the Paleontological Society Medal.