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Biographical
Sketch
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| Dr.
Darin Croft is an Associate Professor in the Department of Anatomy at
Case Western
Reserve University in Cleveland and is a Research Associate at the
American Museum of Natural History, the Carnegie Museum of Natural
History, the Cleveland Museum of Natural
History, and the Field Museum. As a researcher and educator, he
mainly divides his time between teaching anatomy to medical and
graduate
students and studying the anatomy and biology of extinct mammals.
Fieldwork has taken Croft to a variety of places including Australia, Madagascar, South America, and the western US, and he has collected fossil fishes, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and dinosaurs in rocks as old as 230 million years. He currently has ongoing field programs in Bolivia and Chile. His research primarily focuses on the evolution of mammals in South America, especially a group of endemic (and now extinct) mammals called notoungulates. He is also interested in paleoecology (how extinct animals lived and interacted with each other) and the evolution of animals on island continents. Croft has taken part in many educational activities and has given presentations, helped design web sites and exhibits, and participated in live and taped video productions designed to teach both children and adults about geology and paleontology. When in Chicago, he was heavily involved with educational activities associate with the unveiling of Sue the T. rex at the Field Museum; he continues to use Sue and his current research on fossil mammals to illustrate the principles of fossil discovery, preparation, exhibition, and scientific investigation to people of all ages. When not working as a paleontologist or educator, Croft often is helping out The Ohio State University Extension (an organization that brings research-based horticultural information to the public), Science Café Cleveland (a monthly informal science discussion that takes place at a local brewery), or one of the other groups for which he volunteers his time. He also enjoys exercising, traveling, hiking, collecting antiques, gardening, and watching college football. |
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This
page was last updated on March 31, 2010.
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