Next summer, the NSF-funded program On the Cutting Edge will offer a 4-day workshop on Teaching Paleontology in the 21st Century. We've included details about the workshop at the end of this e-mail. If you do not teach paleontology, we hope that you will pass this information on to other colleagues who might be interested in the workshop. The workshop will be held from July 30-August 3, 2009 at Cornell University and the Paleontological Research Institute in Ithaca, NY.

This workshop will be patterned after the very successful workshops on Teaching Mineralogy (1996), Teaching Petrology (2003), Teaching Structural Geology (2004), Teaching Hydrogeology (2005), Teaching Sedimentary Geology (2006), Teaching Geophysics (2007), and Teaching Geomorphology (2008) (http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/).

You can find the on-line application and more information about the workshop at

Details about the workshop:

This workshop will bring together college and university faculty who teach paleontology to explore a wide variety of topics related to teaching paleontology effectively both in paleontology courses and as parts of other courses taught in the geoscience curriculum. Participants will share exemplary laboratory, classroom, museum, and field activities, discuss course content and curriculum, explore strategies for integrating paleontology concepts and activities across the curriculum, consider the challenges associated with teaching evolution, and address issues in teaching and learning paleontology concepts and processes.

All participants will submit at least two activities or assignments for actively engaging students in the classroom or for providing effective and innovative lab or field experiences. These activities will be shared with other participants either as posters or short oral presentations during the workshop and on the Cutting Edge web site ( http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/).

Applicants for this workshop must hold a faculty teaching position at a two- or four-year college or university and have responsibility for teaching undergraduate paleontology. The workshop fee of $250 covers meals and double-occupancy rooms for the workshop. Travel costs to/from the workshop must be borne by the individual or home institution. Our National Science Foundation grant provides funding for the remainder of the operational costs of the workshop.

Barbara Tewksbury
Department of Geosciences
Hamilton College
198 College Hill Rd.
Clinton, NY 13323
voice: 315-859-4713
fax: 315-859-4807
email: btewksbu@hamilton.edu 

DEERFIELD, IL (December 2008) When you take a bite out of a hamburger or chomp down on a piece of gum, you share this function of the lower jaw with the vast majority of animals. But not all: for some animals, lifting the head rather than dropping the jaw is a good idea. This bizarre reversal of how feeding occurs was achieved in 210-million-year-old amphibians, as described in the December 2008 issue of the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

The animals in question are plagiosaurs – a group of flat-headed, armored amphibians unrelated to living amphibians such as frogs, salamanders and caecilians. Fossils of this group of animals have been known for a hundred years, but finds of complete specimens have been elusive. The article, authored by a team led by Dr. Farish A. Jenkins, Jr. of Harvard University, describes new, relatively complete material of a plagiosaur called Gerrothorax pulcherrimus from the 210-million-year-old Fleming Fjord Formation of East Greenland. “With their very flat, heavily armored bodies, short, stubby limbs, massive shoulder girdles and well-developed gills, these amphibians are an oddity by any measure,” says Dr. Jenkins. “The animals could throw their heads upward and backward, creating a huge mouth gape with only the slightest lowering of the lower jaw… perfect for a bottom-dwelling ambush predator,” he continues. By special adaptation of the joint between the skull and first neck vertebra, the animal was able to raise its head relative to its lower jaw by as much as 50 degrees, giving it the wide gape it needed to swallow its unsuspecting prey. “That the same species is found in Greenland as well as Western Europe and Scandinavia suggests that their unique structure was hugely successful,” said Dr. Anne Warren of La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia, a member of the team that conducted the study.

Application materials will be accepted (by E-mail, fax or standard postal mail) between December 1, 2008 and January 31, 2009 at midnight Central Time USA.

For more information on how to apply, go to the new Program for Scientists from Economically Developing Nations Web page . If you have any questions, please contact Nancy Stevens, chair of the Program for Scientists from Economically Developing Nations Committee at:  stevensn@ohio.edu.  For information on how to support this program, contact Kate VanZanten at kvanzanten@vertpaleo.org.

Program for Scientists from Economically Developing NationsA program designed to enable scientists from nations with developing economies to present research at the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP) Annual Meeting.  There will be at least one award granted in 2009.

The program will be managed by the new Program for Scientists from Economically Developing Nations Committee, chaired by Nancy Stevens, with members: Larry Flynn,Eva Koppelhus, Octavio Mateus, Sifa Ngasala (student member) and Anne Schulp.  Read more about the program.

Institutional Membership: A Program for Institutions of Economically Developing NationsThis program is established to promote access by scientists and students to the scientific activities of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology.  The program is particularly intended for those who are based at institutions with limited funds and therefore limited opportunity for membership in SVP. Institutions would be promoted by Society members for “Institutional Membership,” which would offer electronic access to the Society, gratis. 
The program will be managed by the Membership Committee, chaired by Larry Flynn. Read more about the program.

Blaire Van Valkenburgh
SVP President

A Call for Patterson Memorial Grant Award Applications
Applications for the Patterson Memorial Grant Award are due Tuesday, January 15, 2009. The application date was moved up so the winners could be selected in April and the grant funds could be used for summer projects. The award, named in honor of Dr. Bryan Patterson, supports graduate and undergraduate student field work in vertebrate paleontology. 

NEW! There is a new Patterson award amount this year of $2,700 if one award is made, or $1,350 per award if two awards are given.

The application and detailed instructions are available on the Patterson Memorial Grant Award Web page.  
 
To apply for the award, follow the instructions and complete and submit the electronic application by midnight central time zone, January 15, 2009. Mail the sponsor signed copy (postmarked) no later than January 30, 2009. Faxed copies of the signed application will NOT be accepted. Applicants and their sponsors must be SVP members or pending members. The Patterson Grant award winner(s) will be notified by March 14, 2009.

Questions can be directed to Patrick O'Connor at: oconnorp@ohiou.edu .  

Patrick O'Connor
SVP Patterson Memorial Grant Chair

Proposals should include a concise description of the symposium topic including its significance and specific relevance to the particular meeting time and location (if appropriate), and a list of speakers and preliminary titles.  Symposia are four hours in duration and include 16 presentation slots. Five or six poster presentations are also welcome. Proposals should not exceed two pages in length.

Example Symposia text can be viewed in the 2008 Second Circular at http://www.vertpaleo.org/meetings/documents/SVP2008SecondCircular.pdf

Please send proposals to Jason Head, program committee chair at: jason.head@utoronto.ca .

The deadline for proposal submission is Monday, December 1, 2008.

Jason J. Head
SVP Program Committee Chair

A Call for Field Trips and Workshops
The Host Committee for the SVP 69th Annual Meeting, is calling for workshop and field trip proposals, including pre- and post-meeting events. 

The Proposal Outline contains a list of all of the information you must provide to the host chair in order for your proposal to be considered.  Examples of previous field trips and workshops can be viewed in the 2008 Second Circular at http://www.vertpaleo.org/meetings/documents/SVP2008SecondCircular.pdf.

Proposals and questions should be submitted to 2009 Host Committee Member Paul Barrett at: p.barrett@nhm.ac.uk . 

The deadline for proposal submission is Monday, December 1, 2008.

Michael Benton and Emily Rayfield
2009 SVP Host Committee Co-Chairs

The 30-minute video of SVP member interviews – as seen at the awards banquet at the 68th Annual Meeting in Cleveland - is now available on the SVP Web site (under the "Society" tab) .

WE ARE SVP celebrates the extraordinary world of vertebrate paleontology and provides a unique glimpse into the diversity of its scientists and pursuits. It is introduced and narrated by Sam Waterston, long-time star of television's "LAW & ORDER."

To complement WE ARE SVP, thirteen in-depth videos will further explore many of the topics raised in the main video. These are also available on the same page on the Society's Web site.

WE ARE SVP is the first video produced by our society. It was produced and directed by Steven Cohen with scientific consultants Louis H. Taylor and Louis L. Jacobs, all SVP members.  The society gratefully acknowledges the generous support of Executive Producer Mr. Ray H. Marr of Shade Tree Studios, in Dallas, Texas, for his contribution of film, editing crew, and editing studio.

WHAT IS A VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGIST? NEW VIDEO HAS AN ANSWER.

Few scientific pursuits fascinate like digging up fossils. But despite this fascination with fossil-hunting – one aspect of the field of vertebrate paleontology – most people would be hard pressed to explain what a vertebrate is, or what a paleontologist does. Now a 30-minute video provides just such an explanation. And in the process, the sponsors hope to educate, entertain and perhaps inspire a few future paleontologists.

WE ARE SVP a 30-minute video sponsored by the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP), premiered on the society’s website at: http://www.vertpaleo.org/video/WeAreSVP/index.cfm , on October 29, 2008. This video celebrates the extraordinary world of vertebrate paleontology and provides a unique glimpse into the diversity of its scientists and pursuits. It is introduced and narrated by Sam Waterston, long-time star of television’s “LAW & ORDER.”

“This video shows the breadth of our members, their research and what motivates them,” said Catherine Badgley, assistant professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Michigan and past president of SVP. “It shows how relevant vertebrate paleontology is to environmental challenges today.”

In WE ARE SVP, scientists discuss their research and its broad implications: evidence for evolution, insights into global climate change and a better understanding of extinction.

“This video gives the public the inside story on our membership—why they became paleontologists, what inspires their research and what they do on a day-to-day basis,” said Blaire Van Valkenburgh, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California, Los Angeles and current president of SVP. "Children of all ages who love dinosaurs and sabertooth cats will enjoy learning about the folks behind the fossils," said Van Valkenburgh.

Scientists also describe the exhilarating experience of finding fossils in the field and studying them in the laboratory. WE ARE SVP illustrates why paleontology is the preferred gateway into the world of science for many young people.

To complement WE ARE SVP, thirteen in-depth videos further explore many of the topics raised in the main video. These will also be available on the society’s website.

The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, founded in 1940, is the premier scientific society for vertebrate paleontology: the study of vertebrate fossils, evolution and ecology. Currently, the society has over 2,300 members from more than 50 countries. WE ARE SVP is the first video produced by the society.

WE ARE SVP was produced and directed by Steven Cohen with scientific consultants Louis H. Taylor and Louis L. Jacobs, all SVP members. The society gratefully acknowledges the generous support of Executive Producer Mr. Ray H. Marr of Shade Tree Studios, in Dallas, Texas, for his contribution of film, editing crew and editing studio.

Contacts:
Blaire Van Valkenburgh                                                                    Louis H. Taylor                
President of The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology                  SVP Development Committee Chair
Professor                                                                                             4931 W Rowland Ave
UCLA Dept. of Ecology & Evo Bio                                                    Littleton, CO  80128-6419
621 Charles E. Young Drive South                                                  loutaylor44@aol.com
PO Box 951606                                                                                   (303) 972-8955
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1606
bvanval@ucla.edu
(310) 794-9398

Jack, as he was known to his many friends, was born on November 3, 1914, in Lawrence, Massachusetts.  He received a BA degree in 1937 and a PhD in 1941 from the University of Michigan, where he studied under the supervision of E. C. Case. Jack served in the U.S. Naval Reserve during 1943-1945, and saw action in the Pacific during WW II.  He taught geology at the University of Idaho School of Mines from 1940-1942 and, following the war, from 1945-1946.

In the fall of 1946, Jack moved to Austin where he joined the staff of the Department of Geology at the University of Texas.  He was promoted to Professor of Geology in 1955 and taught until 1976, when he retired and became Professor Emeritus.  In 1948, Jack founded the University of Texas Vertebrate Paleontology Laboratory and its graduate training program.  To date, some 90 students have earned graduate degrees from the program that Jack started, and over the course of a long and productive career he had a profound impact on thousands of students in the most positive ways.  Even during his retirement, Jack remained active in field work and was deeply involved in the Texas graduate training program.

Jack was a charter member of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology.  He served the SVP as secretary-treasurer from 1949-1951 and as president in 1952.  Jack was awarded the Romer-Simpson Medal by the SVP in 2000 at the Mexico City meetings.  Jack worked in many different areas of vertebrate paleontology during his long career, but he is best known for his pioneering research on the Tertiary mammals and biostratigraphy of west Texas and Mexico.
 
Jack was a giant in our profession and he leaves an exceedingly high standard of professional accomplishment and integrity, a very high bar for the rest of us to live up to.

Tim

Biography and photos courtesy of Timothy Rowe, J. Nalle Gregory Regents Professor of Geology and Director, Vertebrate Paleontology Laboratory

Top photo: Here is Jack pondering Rooneyia, which was the find of his lifetime.
Bottom photo: Jack at the SVP 67^th Annual Meeting in Austin, Texas (2007). He had just been interviewed for the “We Are SVP” DVD which was unveiled at the 68^th Annual Meeting in Cleveland, Ohio. 

Andrei Sher of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, and member of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, died unexpectedly of a heart attack on August 11, 2008. Sher was an authority on the paleoecology of the Siberian tundra-steppe biome.

Biography courtesy of Margarita Erbajeva.
Photo courtesy of Alisa Winkler.

4th.- The jury will be made up of three outstanding researchers (appointed by the organisers) and by the Managing Director of the FCPTD, acting as a Secretary, but without a right to vote. Its constitution will be known at the same time as their decision.
 
5th.- The jury will act with complete freedom and, in addition to their normal powers -to propose and make a decision, awarding or declaring the award void-, will interpret the present Requirements. The decision of the jury will be final.
 
6th.- The decision of the jury will be announced in Teruel before the end of the year 2008. It will also be advertised on the media. All the participants requesting a certificate of the decision will be sent a copy.
 
7th.- The Sixth International Award in Palaeontology Research Paleonturology 08 is endowed with a Four Thousand Five Hundred Euros (4.500 €) prize –indivisible and subject to the current fiscal legislation- and, prior to its acceptance, the author will be committed to writing a version to popularise the awarded paper paying special attention to additional graphics that may be required. It has to be sent to the organisation within a period of four months from the notification of the award and to relinquish the publication rights to the organisation. The organisation will use it to publish a popular version (it will be translated, if necessary), and will collaborate with the author to reach the required didactic level (students between 15 and 17 years of age). The mentioned right has to be exercised within a year from the date of the decision.

The amount of the award will be paid in its 50% within a period of two months from the notification of the award and the remaining 50% when the popular version is handed in.
 
8th.- A previous jury, composed by experts in Palaeontology, will select the number of papers they estimate relevant, in any case not less than ten. If a shortlisted paper has not be entered by its author, the organisation will propose to him the acceptance of the commitments established in the 7th requirement. In that case he will compete for the award; otherwise, or in the event of not replying within two weeks, he will be withdrawn from the final deliberation.
 
9th.- The organisers of this award are neither committed to attend the mail nor to provide information on the titles selected by the previous jury. These titles will be entered in the record of the meeting of the jury.
 
10th.- Entering papers for this award implies the acceptance of these requirements by the author.

PREVIOUS WINNERS:
PALEONTUROLOGY 03: Faunal change, environmental variability and late Pliocene hominin evolution. René Bobe, Anna K. Behrensmeyer & Ralph E. Chapman (Smithsonian Institution, Washington, USA). Journal of Human Evolution, 42: 475-497. 2002.
 
PALEONTUROLOGY 04: Rib fabrication in Ostreoidea and Plicatuloidea (Bivalvia, Pteriomorphia) and its evolutionary significance. Antonio G. Checa & Antonio P. Jiménez-Jiménez (Universidad de Granada, Spain). Zoomorphology, 122: 145-159. 2003.
 
PALEONTUROLOGY 05: Dinosaur gastralia; origin, morphology and function.  Leon P.A.M. Claessens (Harvard University, USA). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 24: 89-106. 2004.
 
PALEONTUROLOGY 06: Postcranial Skeletal Pneumaticity in Sauropods and Its Implications for Mass Estimates. Mathew J. Wedel (University of California Museum of Paleontology, Berkeley, California, USA). In: The Sauropods: Evolution and Paleobiology (Curry, K.A. & Wilson, J.A., ed.). Univ. California Press, 201-228. 2005.
 
PALEONTUROLOGY 07: The eyes of trilobites: The oldest preserved visual system. Euan Clarkson, Riccardo Levi-Setti & Gabor Horváth (Univ. Edimburgo, Univ. Chicago & Univ. Lorand Eötvös, Budapest). Arthropod Structure & Development, 35: 247-259. 2006.

For the position of Vice-President
Philip J. Currie

For the position of Member-at-Large
Julia Clarke

The SVP election for 2008 was held by electronic ballot starting Thursday, June 5 at 12:01 a.m. Central Time Zone (USA) and ended Friday, September 5, 2008 at midnight Central Time Zone (USA).

The SVP Nominating Committee consists of: Mary Dawson (chair), John Flynn and Farish Jenkins.

DEERFIELD, IL (September 2008)  The crashing of the enormous fluked tail on the surface of the ocean is a “calling card” of modern whales. Living whales have no back legs, and their front legs take the form of flippers that allow them to steer. Their special tails provide the powerful thrust necessary to move their huge bulk. Yet this has not always been the case. Reporting in the latest issue of the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, palaeontologist Mark D. Uhen of the Alabama Museum of Natural History describes new fossils from Alabama and Mississippi that pinpoint where tail flukes developed in the evolution of whales.  “We know that the earliest whales were four-footed, semi-aquatic animals, and we knew that some later early whales had tail flukes, but we didn’t know exactly when the flukes first arose,” said Uhen. “Now we do.”

The most complete fossil described in the study is a species called Georgiacetus vogtlensis. Although not new to science, the new fossils provide some very significant new information. In particular, previously unknown bones from the tail show that it lacked a tail fluke. On the other hand, it did have large back feet and Uhen suggests that it used them as hydrofoils. Undulating the body in the hip region was the key factor in the evolution of swimming.  

The very different body forms seen in the lineage of whales point to very different methods of swimming underwater. Previous studies have proposed a possible process to evolve from the ancestral form, paddling with all four legs, to the modern-day whale in which the tail oscillates up and down. Living vertebrates that are capable swimmers employ a whole range of different techniques, including five particularly well defined methods: quadrupedal paddling, paddling only using the back legs, undulation of the hips, tail undulation and tail oscillation. Interestingly, it had been suggested that during whale evolution each of these steps occurred in turn, but that the hip undulation stage might have been by-passed. The new discoveries indicate that the complete opposite was true, and as Uhen says “wiggling hips were a significant step in the evolution of underwater swimming in whales.” So now we know that Elvis was not the first to owe success to undulating hips!

ABOUT THE SOCIETY OF VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY
Founded in 1940 by thirty-four paleontologists, the Society now has more than 2,300 members representing professionals, students, artists, preparators, and others interested in VP. It is organized exclusively for educational and scientific purposes, with the object of advancing the science of vertebrate paleontology.

Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology
The Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology (JVP) is the leading journal of professional vertebrate paleontology and the flagship publication of the Society. It was founded in 1980 by Dr. Jiri Zidek and publishes contributions on all aspects of vertebrate paleontology.

IMAGE:
The tail-powered swimming of modern baleen (Mysticeti) and toothed (Odontoceti) whales evolved from the hip wiggling style of the ancient whale Georgiacetus. Illustration by Mary Parrish, Smithsonian Institution.

CONTACTS:
Richard Lecomte 
Alabama Museum of Natural History
Tel: +1 205-348-3782
E-mail: rlleomte@advance.ua.edu

A Symposium hosted by Indiana University's Departments of Anthropology and Geological Sciences highlighting new trends in collections-based research in zooarchaeology and paleontology.

View the schedule of events.
Download the poster to share with your colleauges.

Emailed notices were sent out on July 11, 2008 to all primary authors of a completed abstract submitted for the 68th SVP Annual Meeting to be held in Cleveland, Ohio.

Should you have any questions, contact the SVP Business Office at: svp@vertpaleo.org, or phone at: 847/480-9095, extension 249.

(Item originally posted July 15, 2008.)

About the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology
Founded in 1940 by thirty-four paleontologists, the Society now has more than 2,000 members representing professionals, students, artists, preparators, and others interested in VP. It is organized exclusively for educational and scientific purposes, with the object of advancing the science of vertebrate paleontology.

Contact
Mark Terry
+1 206 682 7309 (receptionist)
+1 206 816 6163 (voice mail)

Charlie was a talented morphologist both in the sense of being a descriptive anatomist and quantitative biologist. I met him in the late 90's when he came to Arizona State University’s Institute of Origins for a post-doc after completing his PhD at the University of Witwatersrand. He, Bill Kimbel and I shared the pain of rejected NSF grant proposals before receiving NSF money to study the use of geometric morphometrics to study temporal bone variation in hominins. Three papers resulted:

-- Lockwood,C.A., Lynch,J.M., Kimbel,W.H. (2002). Quantifying temporal bone morphology of great apes and humans: An approach using geometric morphometrics. Journal of Anatomy 201(6), 447-464.
-- Lockwood,C.A., Kimbel,W.H., Lynch,J.M. (2004). Morphometrics and hominoid phylogeny: Support for a chimpanzee-human clade and differentiation among great ape subspecies. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 101(13), 4356-4360.
-- Lockwood,C.A., Kimbel,W.H., Lynch,J.M. (2005). Variation in early hominin temporal bone morphology and its implications for species diversity. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa 60(2), 73-77.

There was other research we intended to do but, somehow, with Charlie's move to London in 2004 and all that involved, we never got round to it. He was soon to be returning to South Africa to take a position at Wits. I'm proud to have known Charlie as a colleague and a friend. He will be missed.

John M. Lynch
Honors Faculty Fellow at Barrett the Honors College at Arizona State University

Photo courtesy of the University College of London

“Born in Denver 15 September 1927; died in Grand Junction 9 June 2008 of old age, cantankerousness and myriad diseases. I am a child of the depression and the dust bowl raised in Colorado, Kansas and Wyoming. I am of German and Irish parentage which explains my somewhat unusual outlook on most things. I had wonderful parents and siblings and had no idea times were tough.

I joined the United States Navy on my seventeenth birthday during World War II and retired from military service in 1976 during the nation’s bicentennial. I always volunteered and chose the hardest and therefore most interesting jobs and loved every minute of it. I did not come back whole but the VA has taken very good care of me.

I worked until I was sixty and then shifted to volunteer work mostly for various museums. I was only fired once and that was a volunteer job and they took me back later.

Here are a few words on fossil work. Always look at all sides of a rock before throwing it down the spoil slope. Never step in wet bentonite with your good shoes on. Check the area for fossils before you poop in that spot. Do not collect hallucinations or cracks in the rock. If you pee orange, drink more water. Always carry the gear down to the quarry and let your partners carry it back up. Noseeums are not on the endangered species list. Noseeums are attracted to any brand of bug repellent. You will find the best fossil in the last minute of the last day of your dig.

How to survive and have fun in the Navy. It is better to shoot at than be shot at. Being chief is better than being seaman. Establish a firm friendship with the ship’s cook. Know your boss’ job better than he does. Choose the top bunk because puke is affected by gravity. Develop a brain that does not require artificial stimulation – coffee excepted of course. Study for the test. Your most important job is keeping the people, the electricity and the ocean all separate from each other. And lastly, don’t fart in a submarine.

On life in general. Select friends from all races, economic levels, ages, religions, intelligence levels and tell them all how much you love them. Try to at least like your relatives. Let your wife know in some manner that you really do love her and never forget her birthday or wedding anniversary – the newspaper will remind you of all the rest. Your kids are not going to turn out perfect, be grateful if they are even slightly likable. Great-grandchildren are the best. Be as green as possible in your life, but I think driving is still better than walking. Talk to your friends about what they might like to talk about, if you can, (my greatest failing). Let a dog or cat adopt you several times during your life. Protect children and animals at all cost. Veterans are frequently old, scruffy, ugly with parts missing and crabby but take care of them anyhow.

Now that I am finally dead it is all right to say nice things about me and if you care to send a donation to a veterans or animal group they would appreciate it. I do request that you try to make a difference by doing something personal that will make a positive difference.

My best friend and beautiful wife had nothing to do with this writing. I am sure she still loves me anyhow. Stay ahead of the posse my friends.”

* * *

POSTSCRIPT

Even though Wally did not say it, some of us think it should be said that he had a most distinguished career in the United States Navy with service in World War II on a tiny Yard Mine Sweeper preparing beaches for amphibious landings on Pacific islands and opening the Chinese port of Shanghai.

Following his discharge and a short stint in a civilian electrical business he rejoined the Navy and grew with Admiral Rickover’s nuclear navy participating in very risky secret missions throughout the Cold War and the Vietnam conflict and retiring as Master Chief of the Boat of a fast-attack nuclear submarine. He was no stranger to peril and has the citations and medals to prove it. We should all be extremely proud of and grateful for his contributions to our freedoms.

And, as if such strong military service were not enough, Wally met the rest of his life head-long with energy, enthusiasm, intelligence and thoughtful camaraderie. Most notable was his love of discovering fossils and preparing them for study by paleontologists. His skills and achievements are the stuff of legends. One of the best publicized of his many, many discoveries was that of a tiny, burrowing mammal that somehow thrived beneath the feet of gigantic dinosaurs 150 million years ago. Fruitafossor windscheffeli (named after Wally) was so small it could curl into a ball and hide beneath a U.S. quarter.

Last year he was nominated by more than 15 professional vertebrate paleontologists from across America to receive the top award to an amateur from the worldwide Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. Wally became highly proficient at whatever he undertook. He was a wonderful story teller and an incredibly loyal friend. We agree with the folksinger Woody Guthrie when he said, “the world was lucky to see him born.”

In accordance with Wally’s wishes, no funeral services are planned.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Disabled Veterans Association, Hospice and Palliative Care of Western Colorado, P.O. Box 60307, Grand Junction, CO 81506, or the Wally Windscheffel Memorial Fund at the Museum of Western Colorado, P.O. Box 20000, Grand Junction, CO 81502-5020.

Plans for a celebration of Wally’s life are pending.

G. W. “Wally” Windscheffel grew up in Smith Center, Kansas and graduated from high school in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Postscript by George Callison.
Photo courtesy of George Callison.

North American Paleontological Convention in June 2009
While you're making plans for SVP meetings this fall and in September 2009, don't forget to include the North American Paleontological Convention, June 21-26 in Cincinnati, Ohio, in your planning.  This is a great occasion to showcase the breadth and innovation occurring in vertebrate paleontology.  And it's an opportunity to meet many of the invertebrate paleontologists and paleobotanists whose paths you rarely cross.  For North Americans, if you're not able to attend the SVP meeting in Bristol, then NAPC offers an exciting meeting closer to home. 

Several SVP members are on the organizing committee of NAPC 2009.  The University of Cincinnati, which will host NAPC, offers attractive, modern, inexpensive accommodations with great field sites close by. 

The NAPC meets every four years at different North American locations and features symposia, field trips, and related activities across all fields of paleontology.  Symposia often cover topics that cut across vertebrate paleontology, invertebrate paleontology, paleobotany, and their many related fields.  Some of these symposium contributions have been published as books or theme issues of major journals. 

Visit www.napc2009.org for further information.  If you're interested in proposing a symposium, please note that the deadline for proposal submission is September 15.


An NSF, PS and SVP-Sponsored 5-day Workshop - Summer of 2009
The National Science Foundation, the Paleontological Society, the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, and the On The Cutting Edge Initiative to sponsor a 5-day workshop in the summer of 2009 on teaching undergraduate paleontology. The details of the workshop are described below*. If you are interested in attending this workshop, we hope that you will help us decide when and where to hold it. Please take a minute to go to the following web site:
http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/paleo_survey.html

1. Hold the workshop immediately before the North American Paleontological Convention in Cincinnati, OH (NAPC is June 21-26, 2009);

2. Hold the workshop in late July or early August 2009 at the Paleontological Research Institution in Ithaca, NY.

The deadline for completing the survey is August 4. Please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions!

*About the Workshop

On The Cutting Edge initiative, in conjunction with the Paleontological Society, the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, and the National Science Foundation, will be sponsoring a workshop on enhancing and stimulating the teaching of paleontology at the undergraduate level in the summer of 2009.

This workshop will bring together a diverse crowd of paleontologists, including vertebrate, invertebrate, microfossil, and plant workers, from a variety of U.S. institutions, including research universities, liberal arts colleges, community colleges, and museums, all of whom teach paleontology to undergraduates. We will explore topics related to teaching paleontology effectively in the classroom, lab, and field and discuss the challenges associated with teaching evolution, incorporating quantitative approaches in the classroom, and emphasizing the relevance of paleontology to today's students.

Participants will share exemplary laboratory and classroom activities, discuss course content and curriculum, explore field trips as a catalyst for integrating field and in-class material, and consider innovative approaches to teaching and learning paleontological concepts and processes. This 40-70 person workshop will run for five days, will include both half-day and full-day fieldtrips, and will be heavily subsidized by funding from the National Science Foundation.

If you'd like to learn more about the Cutting Edge organization in general and the successful workshops they've already sponsored in mineralogy, petrology, structural geology, sedimentology, geomorphology, and a range of other geological subjects, please see their website:

• Neil Shubin speaks on his latest discovery, Tiktaalik, and his new book, "Your Inner Fish: A Journey Through the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body"
• A paleoart exhibition held during the Welcome Reception
• Frans Lanting, National Geographic Society photographer-in-residence, will present on his latest book, "Life: A Journey Through Time" (accompanied by a video presentation)
• A Global Climate Change Forum with scientific experts on the subject
• A special presentation by two members of the National Science Foundation (NSF) about funding for vertebrate paleontologists

Field Trip and Workshop Registration Deadline is August 28
Everything you always wanted to know about: classic Cleveland shale fossil fish localities, the physical anthropology lab at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and rocks and fossils in the middle of downtown Cleveland.  Workshops include: Introduction to Basic Casting and Molding Techniques, Digital Media Basics, Evolution Education and Communicating with the Media.  Explore these subjects through the fascinating and carefully planned Field Trips and Workshops being offered this year.  Attendance is limited, so sign up today.

Auction at the Annual Meeting
Three exciting casts have already been donated.  Start checking your pockets for spare change.

Clean your house and donate some treasures of your own.  Don't overlook artwork, maps, casts, books, interesting field items, autographed memorabilia... be creative.

Download the Auction Donation Form.  Bring your items with you and turn them in prior to the auction at the registration desk during registration hours or ship them by Friday, October 10, 2008.  See the Auction Donation Form for shipping instructions.
-If you're shipping an extremely large item, contact the SVP business office first, at: (847) 480-9095, Fax: (847) 480-9282, Email:  svp@vertpaleo.org.
-Questions:  contact:  Brent Breithaupt at: (307) 766-2646, uwgeoms@uwyo.edu.

Contribute to the 6th Annual Reprint Exchange 
The Student Roundtable Forum, Thursday, October 16th, from 9:00-11:00 pm, includes the opportunity for students to collect reprints donated by you in order to build their personal libraries.

Bring or send your recent journal articles, book chapters or shorter monographs.  Any papers with extensive photographic figures (regardless of resolution) are especially welcome.

We accept any author (students, avocational, paleontologists...) and any subject that has some connection to vertebrate paleontology or related disciplines.

There will be a collection point near the registration desk. You may also send reprints to:

Kerin Claeson
University of Texas
1 University Station-C1100
Austin, Texas    78712

Questions?  Contact Student Liaison Committee Chair, Kerin Claeson, at:  kclaeson@mail.utexas.edu.

NOTE:  Older classic reprints, books, complete sets of museum series or an author's work, or reprints with an important person's signature should be donated to the SVP Auction. If you're not sure what to do, contact Brent Breithaupt at:  (307) 766-2646, uwgeoms@uwyo.edu.

Watch for more details and updates when the second circular is shipped to all members in July. 

NOTE: After September 25, online registration will be closed and only onsite registration at the registration desk in Cleveland will be accepted.

Learn about the exciting events planned for the meeting at the Annual Meeting home page.

• SVP is changing to a CALENDAR membership year (January 1 through December 31). SVP's normal membership year is October 1 through September 30.
• In order to move to a calendar year, SVP must have a, one-time, 15 month year: October 1, 2008   through December 31, 2009.
• Your dues have been prorated for this 15 month year. There have been NO INCREASES for dues  assessed for this 15 month year (in most instances, SVP has discounted the dues).
• Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology (JVP) — subscribing members will receive five (5) issues of the JVP  during this 15 month year: JVP28(4) through JVP29(4).   Then, starting in 2010, all Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology (JVP) — subscribing members will be receiving a complete volume of the JVP each membership year (issues 1 - 4 inclusive).