Paleobiology, Evolutionary Theory, and Geopolitics

大卫Weishampel教授与罗马尼亚德瓦化石脊椎动物馆馆长Coralia Maria Jianu博士合作，正在调查有关古生物学科学起源的重要问题以及职位和资金在研究中的作用。 很明显，了解一个科学领域的不同方法是如何发展的，以及它们与我国目前接受的科学有什么关系，是非常重要的。 在这方面，Weishampel博士和Jianu博士对Franz Baron Nopcsa的研究有望丰富我们对古生物学如何在世纪发展的理解。 Nopcsa是该领域的先驱。 他强调了脊椎动物化石的生物学性质，使用骨骼组织学来理解已灭绝脊椎动物的生理学，新拉马克进化机制和大陆漂移理论。他还考察了亚得里亚海东岸的地质。通过将这些不同的链结合在一起，Nopcsa帮助为东欧古生物学创造了一种独特的方法。 他的见解提出了这门科学在一个有价值的角度，是值得对比的崛起，美国古生物学所创造的亨利费尔菲尔德奥斯本。 Nopcsa的职业生涯的两个方面是非常感兴趣的不仅仅是他的科学。 首先，他为自己发明了这个领域。 没有人训练他。 一个科学家如何着手创建一个新的学科，他如何吸引追随者？ 其次，Nopcsa是独立富裕，并能够进行他的研究，以任何方式，他选择追求。 这种独立性如何影响他提出的问题，而不是他同时代的人受到大学和/或政府、基金会或赞助人支持的约束？ PI也将研究这些重要而有趣的问题。 因此，这项研究有望提高我们对古生物学兴起的理解，以及赞助人在指导一个研究领域中的作用。

Professor David Weishampel, in collaboration with Dr. Coralia Maria Jianu, Curator of Fossil Vertebrates in Deva Romania, is investigating important questions on the origins of the science of paleontology and the role of position and funding in the kinds of research one conducts. It is clearly of great importance to understand how differing approaches to a scientific field develop and what relationship they have with currently accepted science in our country. In this respect, Drs. Weishampel and Jianu's study of Franz Baron Nopcsa promises to enrich our understanding of how paleontology has developed in the 20th Century. Nopcsa was a pioneer in the field. He emphasized the biological nature of fossil vertebrates, the use of bone histology to understand the physiology of extinct vertebrates, neo-Lamarkian evolutionary mechanisms, and the theory of continental drift. He also examined the geology of the eastern Adriatic Coast. By bringing together these different strands, Nopcsa helped to create a distinct approach for Eastern European paleontology. His insights present this science in a valuable perspective that is worth contrasting to the rise of American paleontology as created by Henry Fairfield Osborn. Two aspects of Nopcsa's career are of great interest beyond just his science. First, he invented the field for himself. There was no one to train him. How does a scientist go about creating a new discipline and how does he attract followers? Secondly, Nopcsa was independently wealthy and was able to carry out his research in whatever manner he chose to pursue. How did this independence affect the kinds of questions he asked versus those of his contemporaries who were bound by the constraints of university and/or government, foundation or patron support? The PI will also examine these important and fascinating questions. This study thus promises to enhance our understanding of the rise of paleontology and the role patronage in directing a field of investigation.