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Although the term "museum" usually evokes a vision of long halls lined with exhibits, UCMP is more like a library representing more than a billion years of life on Earth. It is an active center of research, housing one of the nation's largest fossil collections as well as state-of-the-art facilities for the study of these fossils.

Fields of Research

UCMP research focuses on fields related to paleontology, including systematics and evolution of protists, plants and animals; biostratigraphy; paleoecology; paleoceanography; paleobiogeography; and paleoenvironmental analysis. This research has taken faculty and staff to all corners of the globe — check out some of our research localities. Browse individual faculty web pages for more specific information on current research interests, or visit our Information Exchange page to find out more through publications and on-line discussions.

Research Facilities

UCMP research is supported by state-of-the-art facilities. The Museum has laboratories for activities including fossil preparation, molding and casting of fossils, histological studies of fossil bone, and molecular analysis. Visit the links below for information on specialized facilities available to UCMP researchers.
   Molecular Phylogenetics Laboratory (joint facility, with the University/Jepson Herbaria)
   BIOAAPE Center (Valley Life Sciences Building facility)

Research Funds

The Samuel P. and Doris Welles Research Fund promotes research on the Museum's collections, particularly those of Mesozoic vertebrates from the Colorado Plateau and others on which he worked. Visit the Welles Fund pages for more information.

Archived Research Data

Browse supplementary data sets from published papers by faculty, staff, and students affiliated with UCMP.

Research Based Exhibits

Many of UCMP's on-line exhibits draw upon paleontological research conducted by faculty and graduate students. You can start by exploring this sampling of exhibits:
   Dr. William Clemens et al in Eastern Montana
   Upper Blue Nile Gorge, Ethiopia
   The Winter Coast of Russia
   Sulawesi Coelacanths

 

 

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