Dear subscribers,

For many, the fall season brings to mind pumpkins and sweaters. However, for our researchers at the KU BI/NHM, fall is synonymous with conferences. Throughout October and November, staff and students from several BI/NHM divisions have been actively presenting their research and attending annual meetings, with some events happening as close as Hays, Kansas, and some as far away as Kyoto, Japan.

Attending and presenting at conferences offers our students a valuable opportunity to engage with the broader academic community, receive feedback and critique, and enhance their professional reputation. For our staff, these conferences provide a platform to showcase personal research and highlight the significance of the BI/NHM's collections. For example, Herpetology Collection Manager Ana Motta was recently invited to speak at the Kansas Herpetological Society Annual Meeting, where she discussed the role of natural history collections in documenting biodiversity and evolutionary changes. 

Below is a short list of past and upcoming conferences BI/NHM staff and students presented at this fall. Great work, team!

Sincerely, 

Natalie Vondrak
Communications Coordinator 

Ekgmowechashala upper molar (KUVP 69859), KU Vertebrate Paleontology
During the greenhouse conditions of the early Cenozoic, North America was inhabited by many species of early primates, but they all went extinct when the world became cooler and drier ~34 million years ago (Eocene-Oligocene boundary). Several million years later, the enigmatic primate Ekgmowechashala (egg-a-moo-weh-CHA-sha-la—meaning little cat man in the Lakota Sioux) briefly colonized North America from Asia, blazing the same path that would be followed millions of years later by ancestral Native Americans. KUVP 69859, from western Nebraska, is one of only two known specimens preserving aspects of the upper dentition of Ekgmowechashala. 

Learn more about Ekgmowechashala in the 2023 KU News article.

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Our three paleontology divisions pulled out all the stops and specimens during last month's National Fossil Day event. Great work, paleo crew!

KU Herpetology students and staff traveled to Hays, Kansas, for the 51st Kansas Herpetological Society meeting. Collection Manager Ana Motta was an invited presenter who spoke on the role of natural history collections in documenting biodiversity and evolutionary changes. 

Archaeology Curator Carlton Shield Chief Gover attended and presented at the 5th Japanese-American-German Frontiers of Science Symposium (JAGFOS) in Kyoto, Japan last month. The symposium offered talented young researchers an opportunity to engage in cross-disciplinary discussions on cutting-edge scientific topics.

Several BI/NHM staff and students from the divisions of mammalogy, herpetology, botany, ornithology, and paleobotany tabled at the KU Field Station's Visitor's Day, teaching the public about the incredible research involving the biological field station.