Dry Dredgers Paul Sanders Award

Paul Sanders Award Winners

2009

Dry Dredgers will award two Paul Sanders Award research grants for the 2008-2009 year. Each grant is for up to $500 and reimburses the recipient for expenses incurred while conducting the research. The entries were judged by three professional paleontologists and 4 knowledgeable amateur Dry Dredgers.

One grant was awarded to Rene A, Shroat-Lewis. She is working toward a doctoral degree in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at the University of Tennessee under the direction of Drs. Michael L. McKinney and Colin D. Sumrall. Her project title is: “Paleoecology of an edrioasteroid-bearing hardground from the Bellevue Member of the Grant Lake Formation (Cincinnatian, Upper Ordovician) near Maysville, Mason County, Kentucky”.

The second award was to Aaron M. House. He is currently a student at the University of Cincinnati and the award will allow him to complete his Masters of Geology thesis. His project title is: “A taphonomic comparison of the Middle and Lade Ordovician molluscan shell beds: Developing a mechanism of aragonite preservation in calcite seas”.

Congratulations are due to both recipients who continue the tradition of scholarly research in the Ordovician worthy of publication.

There are no restrictions on who may apply for a Paul Sanders Award. For more information concerning the Dry Dredger Paul Sanders Awards visit the Dry Dredgers’ web site

2006

Bradley Deline:  University of Cincinnati, Dept of Geology

2005

Bradley Deline:  University of Cincinnati, Dept of Geology. Bradley is a graduate student working with Professor Carl Brett. Bradley's project is a study of the morphologic diversity and biogeography of pelmatozoans at the turnover event at the end Mokawkian stage of the late Ordovician in Eastern North America.

Autumn Thompson: Department of Earth Sciences, University of California. 

Steve Felton: Dry Dredgers Avocational Paleontologist.

2004

Katherine Bulinski, currently in the doctoral program at the University of Cincinnati, Department of Geology. Her project title is: "Biodiversity, Sample Volume and Population Structure: The Cincinnatian as a Microcosm for Assessments of Global Marine Diversity". Kate delivered a talk to the Dry Dredgers on this project and asked for the members help with specimens and possible research sites. This is the first Paul Sanders award that Kate has received.

Michael A. Zuykov, a Ph.D. student at the Department of Paleontology, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg Russia . His project is titled: "New platystrophia-like brachiopods from the Upper Ordovician of North America (Cincinnati area): morphology and systematic". Mr. Zuykov is the first international recipient of the Paul Sanders Award but this is the second Paul Sanders award he has received.

2003

Michael Zuykov, Department of Paleontology, St. Petersburg State University, Russia. Zuykov is looking at brachiopods of the genus Platystrophia from Ordovician rocks from Estonia and the St. Petersburg region. In general, Zuykov's work is directed toward identifying the evolutionary history of this genus, and probably toward a finding that some North American Platystrophia brachiopods are, in fact, a separate genus.

Brenda Hunda, Department of Earth Sciences, University of California. Hunda will continue her efforts to define Cincinnati fossil species according to today's taxonomic standards. In particular, she is looking at the trilobite Flexicalymene, and plans to document patterns of evolution within the Flexicalymene genus and to resolve the species and subspecies within that genus associated with specific strata.

2002

Angela Horner, working toward a master's degree in biology from the University of Cincinnati. She is studying the functional morphology and biogeography of Lower Carboniferous lungfish.

William Garcia, UC paleo Ph.D. candidate, prior Sanders Award winner and presenter of well received programs in March of 2001 and 2002. Bill will use his Sanders Award to continue work on early tetrapods.

2001

Brenda Hunda, Department of Earth Sciences, University of California. She is currently working on her Ph. D. in Paleontology. Her project is: “In situ preservation of trilobite assemblages: Implications for understanding evolutionary pathways in Ordovician trilobites”. This is the second award to Brenda for this project.

William Garcia, a Ph.D student at the University of Cincinnati. His project is titled: "A description of the tetrapod fauna from Hancock County, Kentucky, with a consideration of early tetrapod systematics”. Bill was the speaker at the March Dry Dredger meeting and talked about the physical changes between closely related fish and the earliest tetrapods.

2000

Brenda Hunda, Department of Earth Sciences, University of California. She is currently working on her Ph. D. in Paleontology. Her project is: "In situ preservation of trilobite assemblages: Implications for understanding evolutionary pathways in Ordovician trilobites".

Andrew Webber, a Ph. D student at the University of Cincinnati. Andrew's project is titled: "High-resolution Chronostratigraphy in the type Cincinnatian (upper Ordovician): A Quantitative Approach to Correlation of the Kope and Fairview Formations across a Broad Geographic Area".

1999

James St. John, a Dry Dredger member currently working toward his Ph.D. in paleontology at Ohio State University. St. John has identified what appears to be a new species of trilobite from the Cincinnatian. The Sanders award will support his work in formally describing this trilobite.