• Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (competitive), June, 2004 to September, 2005, Smithsonian Institution. Project title: “Early Eocene forests in the Bighorn Basin of Wyoming: open or closed canopy? A test using carbon isotopes in mammal teeth.” Host/advisor: Dr. Scott L. Wing.

• Ph.D., 2004, Department of Geological Sciences and Museum of Paleontology, The University of Michigan. Thesis title: “Late Paleocene biostratigraphy, isotope stratigraphy, and mammalian systematics of the northern Bighorn Basin, Wyoming.” Major advisor: Dr. Philip D. Gingerich.

• Master of Science Degree, 1996, Department of Geology and Geophysics, The University of Wyoming. Thesis title: "Paleocene mammalian biostratigraphy of the Carbon Basin, southeastern Wyoming, with age constraints on local tectonism." Major advisor: Dr. Jason A. Lillegraven.

• Bachelor of Science Degree "With High Distinction," 1993, Department of Geology, Mackay School of Mines, The University of Nevada, Reno. Major advisor: Dr. James R. Firby.

Employment (1993-2004)

• Museum assistant, University of Michigan (1998-2002). Assisted museum curators in research related duties. Work included isotopic analyses of mastodon tusk dentin, and the preparation, identification, and curation of fossil vertebrates and plants.

• Research Associate, University of Wyoming (1996-1997). Assisted in designing a model for the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to assess the paleontological potential of selected formations in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, and the Dakotas. Work involved collecting and analyzing paleontological data from the GeoRef database, and designing and implemented a custom database.

Teaching Experience (1993-2004)

• Spring, 2004: Graduate student instructor for “Fossil Record and Evolution of Mammals,” University of Michigan. Duties included lab design, instruction, student assistance, and exam proctoring.

• Spring, 2003: Graduate student instructor for “Evolution of the Primates,” University of Michigan. Duties included lab design, instruction, student assistance, and exam proctoring.

• Spring, 2000: assisted professors in several introductory courses at the University of Michigan. Duties included proctoring and grading exams, setting up projection equipment, limited student contact, and occasional lecturing for instructor.

• Fall 1993 - spring 1995: Teaching assistant for three semesters of introductory physical geology courses and one semester of “Principles of Paleontology,” University of Wyoming. Duties included lab design (in paleo), lab setup, instruction, student assistance, and exam proctoring.

Course Guest Lectures

• Spring, 2004: “multituberculates”; course: Fossil record and evolution of mammals.

• Spring, 2004: “techniques for phylogenetic reconstruction”; course: Fossil record and evolution of mammals.

• Spring, 2000: “The fossil record and the geologic time scale”; course: The geologic time scale.

Field Experience (1990-2004)

• Northern Bighorn Basin, Wyoming; 1999-2004: six to eight weeks most summers (except 2003). Work focused on collecting fossil vertebrates by quarrying and surface collecting, prospecting for new localities, identifying and tracing marker beds, and measuring section under the direction of Dr. Philip D. Gingerich.

• Western Washakie Basin, Wyoming; eight weeks in 1997. Focused on prospecting for new vertebrate-bearing localities in Paleocene age strata in concert with Dr. Jason A. Lillegraven.

• Carbon Basin, Wyoming; twelve weeks in 1994. Work for master’s thesis, including fossil collecting, quarrying, mapping new Paleocene localities, and prospecting for vertebrate fossils under the direction of Dr. Jason A. Lillegraven .

• Western Hanna Basin, Wyoming; eight weeks in 1993. Prospecting for and collecting mammalian and non-mammalian vertebrates in late Cretaceous age strata, under the direction of Jason A. Lillegraven.

• Northern Nevada and California; intermittent collecting from 1990-1993 in various Miocene and Pliocene localities under the direction of Richard C. Hilton. Work included excavation of deer and camel skeletons in Nevada, and a mastodon in the Black Rock Desert.

Awards

• Ermine Cowles Case Student Award for “Outstanding Scholarship and Attainment in Research,” 2004, Museum of Paleontology and Department of Geological Sciences, University of Michigan.

• "Outstanding Geology Student," 1993, Mackay School of Mines, University of Nevada, Reno.

• "Certificate(s) of Achievement," 1989 and 1990, Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures (German), University of Nevada, Reno.

Grant Awards

• Postdoctoral Research Competitive Fellowship Award, Smithsonian Institution, 2004-2005.

• American Chemical Society, Petroleum Research Fund, 2001-2003. Tuition, stipend, lab and field support for dissertation work.

• Scott Turner Award in Earth Sciences, University of Michigan, 2000-2001. Lab and field support for dissertation.

• Geological Society of America, 1999-2000. Lab and field support for dissertation.