Title:
Dinosaur Research at the U.C. Museum of Paleontology:
The Real Jurassic Park
Mark Goodwin, Principal Scientist
The University of California Museum of Paleontology

Abstract:

How do paleontologists collect dinosaurs? Where do they look? These are just a couple of the questions that Dr. Mark Goodwin will answer during his presentation. The Museum of Paleontology celebrated its 75th anniversary recently. Over many decades, Museum staff and faculty members have undertaken field work throughout the Western Interior of North America and around the world. Mark's research on pachycephalosaurid (dome-headed) dinosaurs, focusing on the cranial histology of new fossils from Montana, suggests they did not use their heads as battering rams (as often portrayed in certain books and movies). The recent discovery of the smallest Triceratops skull ever found provides the first glimpse of an early growth stage of one of the "last" dinosaurs.