Dickinson Museum Center Paleontology Summer Assistant

SEASONAL POSITION - MUSEUM PALEONTOLOGY ASSISTANT
As part of its summer programming, Dickinson Museum Center is seeking a seasonal paleontology assistant for the 2020 summer tourist season, starting in mid-late May or early June (flexible), and lasting up to 12 weeks.


POSITION SUMMARY:
The seasonal paleontologist is a position that combines education & outreach, exhibit interpretation, and work in the preparation laboratory. The amount of time dedicated to each responsibility will depend on the ability and experience of the applicant.

• Compensation: $12.52 per hour (wage includes $1.25 per hour Skill-Based pay)
• Hours: up to 40 hours per week

APPLICATION INFORMATION:
Date Posted: January 23, 2020 08:00 AM
Deadline: February 13, 2020 5:00 PM

All applicants for this position in previous years are welcome to apply for this summer's position.
For more information on the position, and details of how to apply, please visit the City of Dickinson website: https://dickinsongov.com/2020/01/23/job-opening-museum-paleontology-assistant/

ABOUT BADLANDS DINOSAUR MUSEUM:
Badlands Dinosaur Museum is a growing institution located on the 12 acre campus of Dickinson Museum Center in Dickinson, ND. The museum was founded in 1992 by Alice and Larry League and operated as Dakota Dinosaur Museum until 2015 whereupon it was acquired by the City of Dickinson. In 2016, Dr. Denver Fowler was hired as curator of paleontology and the museum was renamed as Badlands Dinosaur Museum in 2017.

Badlands Dinosaur Museum is undergoing a complete overhaul of the facility, exhibits, and programming. New fossil specimens are being collected by our fieldwork program that are prepared in our public viewing laboratory, which has a sliding window to allow visitors to ask questions. Fossil storage facilities have been upgraded to meet standards for a federal repository. Our evolving exhibit features new displays each year.

 
ESSENTIAL DUTIES:

• Assists in design of outreach and educational activities in paleontology that utilize the exhibit and education collection. May involve visiting groups or buildings outside of the museum campus.
• Implements outreach and educational programming in paleontology aimed at local population and regional summer tourism.
• Will offer interpretive assistance in the paleontology exhibit hall: answering visitor questions, giving short tours, and explaining exhibit content and core scientific concepts in paleontology.
• Assists in the public preparation laboratory in preparing specimens for exhibit and research.
• Provide general assistance to the curator and laboratory fossil preparator.
• Assists in outreach, special events, and donor development.
• Other duties as assigned.

 
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, & ABILITIES:

• Enrollment in a post-secondary educational program in a subject appropriate to Paleontology (e.g. Biology, Geology), or equivalent experience in a museum or education setting.
• Good general knowledge of paleontology, including being able to discuss core concepts with visitors and answer typical questions.
• Comfortable with public speaking in front of small groups and larger audiences.
• Willing and able to engage visitors in a friendly and approachable demeanor.
• Happy to work with children and families.
• Basic familiarity with fossil preparation methods.
• Ability to work independently on outreach & education and other fossil projects.
• Must be able to lift at least 25 pounds.
• Knowledge of appropriate specimen handling protocol.
• Demonstrable interest and knowledge of museums and their role in society.
• Basic proficiency with Microsoft Office software.
• Valid driver's license.

 
ADDITIONAL DESIRABLE SKILLS & KNOWLEDGE:
· Prior experience in outreach and education.
· Prior experience with children and families.
· Prior experience in a museum setting.
· Knowledge of anatomy, especially dinosaurs.

 
WORKING CONDITIONS
Some responsibilities will include working with rocky, dusty, or dirty fossils; using plaster of paris, various glues, and paint; spending long periods standing.

Paleontological Society Early Career Grants

The Paleontological Society supports research for early-career paleontologists. The deadline for such two early-career grants is February 1, 2020 and we encourage you to consider applying for either, or passing this along to colleagues who you think may be interested in applying.

Arthur James Boucot Research Grants

The Arthur James Boucot Research Grants support early-career paleontologists in the fields of morphology, taxonomy, and biostratigraphy, working on any taxa, preferably with some combination of these approaches and a significant fieldwork component. Arthur James Boucot Research Grants support original research by current postdoctoral students, assistant professors (pre-tenure), and other early career paleontologists with a PhD, with the possible exception of an occasional individual deemed to be unusually qualified. Paleontologists must be associated with universities, institutes, and academies of science, or equivalent institutions.

Norman Newell Grants

The Norman Newell Grants complement the Arthur Boucot grants, and preference is therefore given to research projects in areas not covered by the Arthur Boucot grant topical areas. Eligible applicants include paleontologists who completed their Ph.D. within the last five years and who are members in good standing of the Paleontological Society.


Applicants can only apply to one of these Early Career Grants per funding year. To broaden the reach of Paleontological Society funds, recipients of a Norman Newell grant may not apply for an Arthur Boucot grant, nor may they apply for a second Norman Newell grant. Similarly, recipients of an Arthur Boucot grant may not apply for a Norman Newell grant.

Additional details on the grants, including eligibility, funding, and application instructions can be found at the PS website at https://www.paleosoc.org/grants-and-awards/#professionalgrants.

If you have any questions about either grant, please contact (off list) Chair of the Boucot Grant Sally Walker <swalker@gly.uga.edu> or Chair of the Newell Grant Phil Novack-Gottshall <pnovack-gottshall@ben.edu>.

Student Research Awards

Hello members of the GBGM,

The Paleontological Research Institution (PRI) is offering the following student research awards. 

Dutro Award

In recognition of the importance of basic systematic research to the science of paleontology, the Paleontological Research Institution (PRI) is once again proud to be able to offer support to a deserving graduate student for research in systematic paleontology.

This award of $500 is available to any student enrolled in an advanced degree program (Masters or Ph.D.) who is pursuing research in any area of systematic paleontology. Acceptable costs are research supplies, bench fees, and/or travel in support of fieldwork, museum visits, or to present research at a scientific meeting.

A brief description of the student's research project (two-page maximum, including a simple budget of how the funds will be used, references, any images, etc.) should be emailed to studentaward@priweb.org by the application deadline of March 1, 2020; please include "DUTRO AWARD" in the subject line. The student's primary research advisor must email a separate letter of recommendation in support of the project to studentaward@priweb.org, also by March 1.

John W. Wells Grants-in-Aid of Research Program

The Paleontological Research Institution (PRI) invites applications from undergraduate students, graduate students and post-doctoral researchers for the 2020 John W. Wells Grants-in-Aid of Research Program to support collections based research in any field of paleontology. The program awards grants of up to $500 to visit PRI’s collections.

This grant honors John W. Wells (1907 – 1994), past President of the PRI Board of Trustees, a long-time geology faculty member at Cornell University, and one of the world’s leading authorities on fossil and living corals.

PRI houses one of the largest collections of invertebrate fossils in North America, with particular strengths in Cenozoic mollusks from the Western Hemisphere, and marine invertebrates of the northeastern U.S., especially the Devonian of central New York.

 Applications should include a brief (one page) description of the research project, a budget justification and a letter of recommendation. Application deadline is February 15, 2020.

 Please e-mail your application material to Dr. Gregory P. Dietl, Curator of Cenozoic Invertebrates at gpd3@cornell.edu.

Meet your new GBGM Student Representative

Hello GBGM community,
Please join us in welcoming Alison Cribb as our newest Student Representative for the GSA Geobiology and Geomicrobiology Division.

Student Representative (2020-2022): Alison Cribb (University of Southern California)

I am delighted to join the GBGM Division as a student representative. I am a Ph.D. student at the University of Southern California, where my research focuses on the co-evolution of Earth systems and animal ecosystem engineers. Specifically, I currently study when different bioturbating animals evolved during the Cambrian Substrate Revolution, how they responded to mass extinction events, and how they influence benthic biogeochemical cycles and ecosystem habitability. I integrate methods in paleoecology, geochemistry, and sedimentology to address my research questions. I have been a member of GBGM since I was an undergraduate, and I am honored to serve our community and work alongside such incredible academics in geobiology and geomicrobiology! 

Taming the BEAST 2020

Taming the Beast 2020

May 31 - June 5, 2020, Oberägeri, Switzerland

Phylogenetics and phylodynamics are central topics in modern biology. Phylogenetic inferences reconstruct the evolutionary relationships between organisms, whereas phylodynamic inferences reveal the dynamics that lead to the observed relationships. These two fields have many practical applications in disciplines such as epidemiology, developmental biology, paleontology, ecology and even linguistics. However phylogenetics and phylodynamics are complex and fast-​evolving fields. As such, inference tools are not easily accessible to researchers who are not from a computational background.

Taming the BEAST is a one-​week summer school in the Swiss Alps organized by a team from the Computational Evolution group at ETH Zürich. The summer school will focus on the BEAST2 software and consists of a mix of invited talks by experts in the field (including several of the core developers of BEAST2), lectures and hands-​on tutorial sessions. The aim of the summer school is to equip participants with the skills necessary to confidently perform their own inferences, while providing them with a firm grasp of the theory behind those inferences. Participants are also highly encouraged to bring along their own datasets and to engage with the organizers and speakers to address any problems that they may be experiencing.

The summer school is geared towards graduate students and early-​career scientists in the life sciences. Preference will be given to applicants who are not from a computational background and applicants who have already collected/assembled a dataset that they need to analyze.

Invited speakers:

Alexei Drummond (University of Auckland)

Tanja Stadler (ETH Zurich)

Remco Bouckaert (University of Auckland)

Denise Kuehnert (Max Planck Institute)

The academic registration fee is 900CHF, which includes accommodation and meals. 
Registration is now open.
Please do not hesitate to contact us via tamingthebeast@bsse.ethz.ch with any questions about the workshop.

We hope to see you there,
the Taming the BEAST organizing team

GeoCorp™ America Paid Summer Internships

GeoCorp™ America Paid Summer Internships

GSA is accepting applications for summer 2020 GeoCorps positions until 2 February 2020. 

GeoCorps™ America is a program of the Geological Society of America, operated in partnership with government agencies and other organizations committed to science and stewardship. Current partners include the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service.

This program offers paid short-term geoscience opportunities in some of the most beautiful natural areas in the world.

Learn more about the experiences of GeoCorps alumni via GSA's guest blog, "Speaking of Geoscience."

GeoCorps project topics include geology, hydrology, paleontology, mapping and GIS, minerals, soils, glaciology, geo-hazards, karst, education, and interpretation.