MRI: Acquisition of Instruments and Technical Support for an Interdepartmental Fossil Preparation Laboratory

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0116517O'LearyThis grant, funded though the Major Research Instrumentation Program, provides support to upgrade significantly the current facilities for fossil preparation in the Department of Anatomical Sciences at the State University of New York at Stony Brook (SUNY-SB) Vertebrate paleontological research at SUNY-SB is conducted in four separate departments (Anatomical Sciences, Anthropology, Ecology and Evolution, Geosciences) by nine full-time faculty, one postdoctoral associate, and a host of graduate and undergraduate students. Through the establishment of a state-of-the-art vertebrate fossil preparation laboratory in the Department of Anatomical Sciences, which contains, by far, the highest proportion of paleontologists on campus, this facility will be made available to all Stony Brook paleontologists and their students. These paleontologists and paleontologists-in-training depend directly on mechanical and chemical preparation of vertebrate fossils for their research. Fossil preparation is, quite simply, the process by which fossils are carefully extracted from their entombing rock matrix. It is a very time-intensive process requiring great skill, knowledge, and experience, as well as access to state-of-the-art equipment and tools. At present SBU vertebrate paleontologists conduct some 20 field projects, many of them currently or recently supported by the National Science Foundation. These projects span over 200 million years of Earth history, on four separate continents, and are targeted at evolutionary hypotheses that can be tested by collecting new fossil data. Fund from this grant will be used to purchase sample preparation equipment (i.e. an air compressor and sand blaster, air filtration equipment, storage cabinets, hand tools, and chemical supplies) and to support a full-time technician trained in fossil preparation and curation techniques. The University has committed to providing a separate laboratory equipped with sinks, cabinetry, and a fume hood that would be dedicated strictly to fossil preparation. Additional technical support will help to eliminate the significant backlog of unprepared fossil specimens that has accumulated over the past decade, as well as to mold and cast the most scientifically significant specimens prior to their return to institutions in their country of origin. Establishment of a state-of-the-art vertebrate fossil preparation facility and the hiring of a second skilled technician will dramatically increase the research productivity of Stony Brook paleontologists, eliminate the need for outside contract work, and assist in the fundamental training of students. ***