Mary Dawson
Encyclopedia
Dr. Mary R. Dawson is the curator emeritus of Vertebrate Paleontology at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
. She held the position of curator
from 1972 to 2003, and was chair of the Earth Sciences Division from 1973 to 1997.
Dr. Dawson was raised in Michigan
and received her Ph.D.
from the University of Kansas
. During a research expedition to the Arctic
in the 1970s and '80s she and her team discovered the first fossil
s of Tertiary
land animals that documented a migration route between North America
and Europe
. This migration route provided evidence and support for the theory of plate tectonics
.
In 1992 Dr. Dawson became the first American woman to receive the A.S. Romer-G.G. Simpson medal, considered the highest honor bestowed by the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology
.
In 2006 she disputed the classification of the Laotian Rock Rat
, arguing that it is a member of the group Diatomyidae
which had previously been believed to have gone extinct 11 million years ago.
Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Carnegie Museum of Natural History, located at 4400 Forbes Avenue in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, was founded by the Pittsburgh-based industrialist Andrew Carnegie in 1896...
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. She held the position of curator
Curator
A curator is a manager or overseer. Traditionally, a curator or keeper of a cultural heritage institution is a content specialist responsible for an institution's collections and involved with the interpretation of heritage material...
from 1972 to 2003, and was chair of the Earth Sciences Division from 1973 to 1997.
Dr. Dawson was raised in Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
and received her Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
. During a research expedition to the Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
in the 1970s and '80s she and her team discovered the first fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
s of Tertiary
Tertiary
The Tertiary is a deprecated term for a geologic period 65 million to 2.6 million years ago. The Tertiary covered the time span between the superseded Secondary period and the Quaternary...
land animals that documented a migration route between North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. This migration route provided evidence and support for the theory of plate tectonics
Plate tectonics
Plate tectonics is a scientific theory that describes the large scale motions of Earth's lithosphere...
.
In 1992 Dr. Dawson became the first American woman to receive the A.S. Romer-G.G. Simpson medal, considered the highest honor bestowed by the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology
Society of Vertebrate Paleontology
The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology was founded in 1940 for individuals with an interest in vertebrate paleontology. SVP now has almost 2,000 members. The society's website states that SVP "is organized exclusively for educational and scientific purposes...
.
In 2006 she disputed the classification of the Laotian Rock Rat
Laotian rock rat
The Laotian rock rat or kha-nyou , sometimes called the "rat-squirrel", is a rodent species of the Khammouan region of Laos. The species was first described in a 2005 article by Paulina Jenkins and coauthors, who considered the animal to be so distinct from all living rodents that they placed it...
, arguing that it is a member of the group Diatomyidae
Diatomyidae
Diatomyidae is a family of hystricomorphous, sciurognathous rodents found in Asia. It is currently represented by a single known living species, Laonastes aenigmamus.- "Lazarus effect" :...
which had previously been believed to have gone extinct 11 million years ago.