David Spiering joined the Buffalo Museum of Science in the spring of 2008 with his office at the Tifft Nature Preserve. David grew up in southeastern Wisconsin outside of Milwaukee and attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he studied Zoology, Conservation Biology and Environmental Studies.  At Madison, David developed an interest in land management during an independent project to control garlic mustard (an invasive plant that occurs on Tifft) in the campus natural areas.  After graduating, David gained experience working field positions in several states including: Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, and Florida. His field work was mainly to survey reptiles, amphibians and small mammals, but also conducted extension vegetation surveys at some of those positions.

David attended graduate school at Colorado State University where he received a master’s degree in Ecology for research on cavity-nesting bird (woodpeckers, nuthatches, chickadees, etc.) habitat in ponderosa pine forests. 

David worked for the Minnesota Dept. of Natural Resources in Rochester, MN where he administered a private land conservation program that assisted landowners in enhancing habitat for nongame species, particularly timber rattlesnakes. 

Outside of work David enjoys just about everything outdoors including: hiking, backpacking, camping, canoeing, cross county skiing, biking, bird watching and turkey hunting.

BMS lithics specialist Jack Holland, accompanied by Joe Sullivan of the Buffalo Geological Society, attended a  research workshop of 47 scholars sponsored by the Center for the Study of the First Americans, the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory, the Southeastern Paleoamerican Survey, and the Smithsonian Institution.

Jack is a nationally recognized authority on the study of chert (flint) used in the construction of stone tools by Native Americans, including those of paleoamericans. This workshop provided Jack with the opportunity to meet many of the most prominent paleoamerican scholars and discuss the significance of their findings.

Jack’s participation was made possible through the financial support by the Buffalo Museum of Science.
 

John Grehan gave a presentation on the science of panbiogeography for the symposium on neotropical biogeography at the kind invitation of the conference organizers Dr. Cláudio de Carvalho and Dr. Walter Boerger. This conference provided Dr. Grehan with the opportunity to meet many Latin American colleagues interested in the development and application of panbiogeography.

Also during this visit Dr. Grehan was also able to discuss ghost moth (Hepialidae) systematics with PhD student Carlos Mielke who is currently working on a revision of selected species in the Cibyra group.

Jena Whipking joined the Buffalo Museum of Science as the new Collections Manager in the spring of 2008. Jena grew up in northeastern Nebraska and from a young age had an interest in archaeology. She attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where she double majored in anthropology and history with concentration in prehistoric archaeology. While attending the university, Jena worked for the Midwest Archaeological Center and also gained experience at the Nebraska State Historical Society. It was at these organizations that she was able to submerse herself not only in the lab, but in the field excavating and participating in archaeological surveys.

After graduating, Jena moved on to attend Western Michigan University for graduate school. She received her Master’s degree in Anthropology for research on Section 106 compliance of the National Historic Preservation Act. In addition to working as a Teaching Assistant, Jena applied her research to the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore national park at the southern tip of Lake Michigan in Indiana. After receiving her Master’s degree, Jena became Curator at the Center for American Archaeology in Illinois.

As a fun hobby, Jena is involved with music promotions for several internationally and nationally known bands. She also enjoys traveling, especially overseas soaking up different cultures.

Bill and Kris Parsons reported on some of their discoveries resulting from their 15 years of research on vertebrate fossils throughout the Lower Cretaceous badlands of central and western Montana supported by a dedicated crew of volunteer friends.

The Parson’s reported on a new dinosaur species and summarized their insights into the life of  Deinonychus, best known as Speilberg's Jurassic Park velociraptors.