Category: Locations of Interest

Stanley, George

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Professor Stanley is Professor Emeritus and former Director of the University of Montana Paleontology Center. In the Department of Geosciences at Montana, he taught and conducted research in paleontology and geology for 35 years.  He is a Fulbright Fellow and former geologist and Research Associate at the Smithsonian Institution, Museum of Natural history. His research has helped clarify mass extinctions, the evolution of reef structures and modern and ancient coral lineages. Stanley is a Fellow of the Geological Society of America, Organization for Tropical Studies and Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He’s author of over 300 professional publications and several books. He has done research in western Canada, northern Mexico, the Peruvian Andes, Germany, Austria, New Zealand, Japan and China. Currently he lives in Port Townsend where he enjoys hiking, nature and playing guitar. (Updated Oct. 2021)

Nesbitt, Liz

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Dr. Elizabeth Nesbitt is Curator of Paleontology at the Burke Museum and Earth Sciences professor at the University of Washington. She received her doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley.

Much of her research involves the effects of changing climate on marine faunas, from large vertebrates to invertebrates and microscopic forms. She is currently working with Burke colleagues on measuring the health of Puget Sound through examination of the foraminifera in bottom sediments.

She is continually involved with the numerous exhibits at the Burke Museum, emphasizing communicating science to all ages. For example, she curated “Cruising the Fossil Freeway”, an exhibit that featured the science of Kirk Johnson (now leading the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History) and the art of Ray Troll that introduced the huge variety of American fossils through interactive stations and games.

Numerous fossils of whales and other marine mammals collected on beaches of the Olympic Peninsula are housed in the Burke Museum. A new whale from this area was described in a technical paper published in 2015. Visiting paleontologists are currently studying several small whales and an ancestor of seals and sea lions, all collected from western Washington and between 30 million and 35 million years old. (Updated Oct. 2021)

Pierce, Jen

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Dr. Jen Pierce is a Professor at Boise State in the Department of Geosciences, where she has been since 2005. Her research and professional interests include wildfires and landscape response, soils and carbon storage, climate science education and outreach, and building diverse leadership in Geoscience. Dr. Pierce grew up in Colorado and Wyoming, and received her undergraduate degree from The Colorado College, her master’s degree from the University of Oregon, and her PhD from the University of New Mexico, and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Friends of the Teton River.

Dr. Pierce received the 2018 Boise State College of Arts and Science Faculty Excellence Award, is the founder of the Idaho Climate Literacy Education Engagement and Research (i-CLEER) network and was named a Geological Society of America Fellow in 2020. When she is not working, she enjoys mountain biking, backcountry skiing, playing music, and exploring the outdoors with her family and dog.