PAST PROGRAMS
2003 Programs
January 13, 2003
"The Mineralogy and Origin of Coal Balls"
Dr. Henry Barwood, Department of Mathematics and Physics
Troy State University
February 10, 2003
The Footprints from Walker County, Alabama: A Key for the Carboniferous Tetrapod Ichnology?
Prof. Dr. Hartmut Haubold, Institute of Geological Sciences and Geiseltaltmuseu
Martin-Luther-University Halle, Germany
March 10, 2003
"Hot, Spicy, Cold, Nasty: Life in Extreme Environments"
Dr. Jeannette Doeller & Dr. David Kraus, Department of Biology
University of Alabama at Birmingham
April 14, 2003
"Astronomy Near and Far: The Beauty and Science of Our Universe"
(including a discussion of the Wetumpka, Alabama, Impact Crater/Astrobleme)
Mr. James Lowery, Birmingham Astronomical Society & APS
May 12, 2003
"Where Two Great Sciences Meet: Reflections on My Recent Journey to the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile"
Dr. Ron Buta, Department of Physics & Astronomy
University of Alabama
June 9, 2003
"Alabama's Oil(!) and Natural Gas: Where It Is and How It Formed"
Mr. Henry Moore, Jr., Geological Survey of Alabama/Oil and Gas Board
July 14, 2003
"Old St. Stephens Update, the Confederate Salt Works, and General Historical Sites in South Alabama"
Dr. Jackie Matte, Old St. Stephens Scholar
Author of Highlights of Alabama's Historical Sites, or, Alabama Really Does Have It All
Also Author of They Say the Wind is Red: The Alabama Choctaw--Lost in Their Own Land
August 11, 2003
"A Potpourri: Art, Maps, Nature, Science, Natural History, and Archaeology"
Amanda Schedler, with the Amanda Schedler Fine Art
Gallery (Homewood) and Art History professor
September 8, 2003
"What Happened to all of Birmingham's Lakes, Resorts, and Neighborhood Zoos"
Regina Ammon, Archives Department, Birmingham Public Library
October 13, 2003
"Frogs of Alabama, Including Their Geological Basis and Paleontological Roots"
Mark Bailey, Conservation Southeast, Inc.
November 17, 2003
"Vulcan Materials: Natural Resources Extraction and Processing"
Chuck King, Vulcan Materials
December 8, 2003
"When Ice was rare: the Natural Ice Trade in Alabama Before 1880"
David Robb, Huntsville Museum of Art, retired
2004 Programs
January 12, 2004
"Paleobiogeography and the Devonian Stromatoporoids"
Prof. Carl Stock, Department of Geological Sciences, University of Alabama
February 2, 2004
"River Processes and Morphology: A Geologists Perspective"
Brett McLaurin, Senior Geologist, Vulcan Materials Company
March 1, 2004
"Alabama Dinosaurs"
David King, PhD, Geology Department, Auburn University
April 5, 2004
"Geology and History of Little River Canyon"
Dr. Bill Martin, Little River Canyon Field School and Jacksonville State University
April 5, 2004
"Geology and History of Little River Canyon"
Dr. Bill Martin, Little River Canyon Field School and Jacksonville State University
May 3, 2004
"Sedimentary Geology: Concepts and Principles"
Dr. Brett McLaurin, Senior Geologist, Vulcan Materials Company
June 7, 2004
"A Journey Through Geological Time: The Unusual Terrain of the Birmingham Area"
Dr. Brett McLaurin, Senior Geologist, Vulcan Materials Company
July 5, 2004
1. "Some Missing Pieces Recently Added to Alabama's Geologic Puzzle" by Dr. Jim Lacefield
2. "Preservation Work at the Alabama Museum of Natural History" by David Lueth and Bing Bluett (videotape and discussion)
August 2, 2004
"Alabama's Hidden Treasure: Moundville Archaeological Park"
Bill Bomar, Director, Moundville Archaeological Park
September 8, 2004
"Molluscan Biodiversity of Alabama: Current Threats and Hope for the Future"
Jeffrey Sides, Tennessee Aquarium Research Institute
2005 Programs
January 3, 2005
“Summer Odyssey to New Mexico: Museums, the Abo Formation, and Fossil Trackways"
Prescott Atkinson, MD PhD, and Ron Buta, PhD, APS Members
January 29, 2005
Tour of ACIPCO Plant
Mike Murphy
March 7, 2005
“Petrified Wood: General Concepts and Alabama-Specific Formations”
Dr. Richard Carroll, Geological Survey of Alabama
April 4, 2005
“Sequence Stratigraphy of the Red Mountain Formation”
Tim Chowns, PhD, Dept of Geosciences, Univ of West Georgia
May 2, 2005
“The Life and Times of Late Cretaceous Dinosaurs in Alabama”
David Schwimmer, PhD, Columbus State University
June 6, 2005
Behind the Scenes at McWane Science Center - Collections Tour
Jun Ebersole, Collections Manager, McWane Science Center
July 4, 2005
Cancelled due to weather
August 1, 2005
“Coal Mining in Alabama”
Randy Johnson, PhD, Surface Mining Commissioner
September 12, 2005
“Alabama History: A Naturalist’s Perspective”
John Hall, Asst Director, Alabama Museum of Natural History
October 3, 2005
“Indian Trails to Pioneer Roads in Alabama”
Lamar Marshall, Executive Director, Wild Alabama
November 7, 2005
“McWane Center’s Vision for Its Future Grand Paleontological Exhibit”
Jun Ebersole, Collections Manager, McWane Science Center
December 5, 2005
“Not Just Pictures of Rocks: Photographs by Eugene Allen Smith and the Geological Survey of Alabama, 1885-1910”
Frances Robb
2006 Programs
January 9, 2006
“Archaeology at Magadi: The Investigation of a 500,000 Year Old Homo erectus Site in the Rift Valley of Southern Kenya”
Jun Ebersole, Collections Manager, McWane Science Center
February 6, 2006
“Reefs Before Animals: Carbonate Platform Development in the Proterozoic Atar Group, Mauritania (West Africa)”
Julie Bartley, PhD, University of West Georgia
March 6, 2006
“Geological Uniformitarianism and Its Relationship to Flood Deposits and Fossil Preservation”
Richard Esposito, Research Geologist, Southern Company
April 3, 2006
“Current Archaeological Research and Early Stone Tools”
Robert Clouse, PhD, Director, Alabama Museum of Natural History
May 1, 2006
“Fossils in Caves”
Milo Washington, APS Member
June 5, 2006
“Geography, Vegetation, and Climate of the Late Cretaceous of Alabama”
James Lamb, Curator of Paleontology, McWane Science Center
July 10, 2006
“Extreme Scuba Diving for Fossils”
Forrest Phillips, President, Southern Skin Divers Supply
August 7, 2006
“Types of Trace Fossils and Their Depositional Environments”
Richard Esposito, Research Geologist, Southern Company
September 11, 2006
“The Search for Extraterrestrial Life”
Ron Buta, PhD, APS Member and Professor of Astronomy, University of Alabama
October 2, 2006
“Antarctica: A Personal Encounter with the White Continent”
James Lowery, APS Vice President
November 2, 2006
“Ebenezer Swamp: Understanding a Modern Swamp and the Threats to It”
Mike Hartig
December 4, 2006
“Seven Summits: Experiences Climbing the Highest Peaks on All Seven Continents”
Paul Obert, MD
2007 Programs
January 8, 2007
“The Oak Mountain Interpretive Center”
David Frings, Mayor of Alabaster and Director, Oak Mountain State Park Interpretive Center
February 6, 2007
“McWane Center Exhibit Plans”
Jun Ebersole, Collections Manager, McWane Science Center
March 5, 2007
“Galaxy Classification and Morphology”
Ron Buta, PhD, APS Member and Professor of Astronomy, University of Alabama
April 2, 2007
“The Fossils and Geology of Little River Canyon and Russell Cave National Monument”
Larry Beane, Park Ranger
May 7, 2007
“Discovering Alabama: Tracks Across Time”
Beth Stevens, Coordinator of Discovering Alabama Project Community Model Schools
June 4, 2007
“Global Climate Change: Avoiding the Unmanageable and Managing the Unavoidable”
Joyce Lanning, PhD, The Climate Change Task Force
July 9, 2007
“Dinosaurs of Alabama”
James Lamb, Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology, McWane Science Center
August 6, 2007
“Evolution in U.S. Public Schools: Current Events, Questions, and Answers”
Scott Brande, PhD, University of Alabama at Birmingham
September 10, 2007
“Using Late Cretaceous Geology/Fossils From the Selma Chalk in Strategraphic Studies ”
Sandi Ebersole, Geological Survey of Alabama
October 4, 2007
Preview of Sea Monster exhibit at McWane Science Center
Jun Ebersole, Collections Manager, McWane Science Center
November 5, 2007
“Natural Resources and Alabama’s Future: The Role of the Geological Survey of Alabama and the State Oil and Gas Board”
Berry H. (Nick) Tew, PhD, State Geologist and Director, Geological Survey of Alabama
December 3, 2007
“Fast Times in the Cretaceous: The Life and Times of T-Rex”
Roger Sauterer, PhD, Associate Professor of Biology, Jacksonville State University
2008 Programs
January 7, 2008
“Union Chapel Mine Specimens Go to the New Mexico Museum of Natural History”
APS Members Prescott Atkinson, MD PhD, and Ron Buta, PhD
February 4, 2008
“Fossil Primates, Fossil Humans and Other Research Work in South Africa”
Jason Heaton, PhD, Adjunct Professor of Biology, Birmingham-Southern College
March 3, 2008
“Alabama Dinosaurs at the McWane Science Center”
James Lamb, Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology, McWane Science Center
April 7, 2008
“Ancient Ruins and Exotic Orchids of Peru”
Dick Mills, President, World Discovery Safaris
May 5, 2008
“Astronomy and the Steven C. Minkin Paleozoic Footprint Site”
Ron Buta, PhD, APS Member and Professor of Astronomy, University of Alabama
June 2, 2008
“Water, Water, Everywhere - the Netherlands (Holland): A Country Below Sea Level Where the Past Meets the Future”
James Lowery, APS Vice President
July 7, 2008
“Exploring Alabama’s Geology Through Sandstone”
Jim Lacefield, PhD, APS Member and Author of “Lost Worlds in Alabama Rocks”
August 4, 2008
“Where Did Whales Come From?”
Mark Uhen, PhD, Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology, University of Alabama
September 15, 2008
“Terrestrial Trace Fossils from the Permian of the Southwestern USA”
Nic Minter, PhD, University of Bristol, UK
October 6, 2008
“The Evolution of Sharks”
Ashley Allen, APS President
November 3, 2008
December 1, 2008
2009 Programs
January 3, 2009
“Fossil Wood of Alabama and Related Meanderings”
Dr. Richard Carroll, Geological Survey of Alabama
February 2, 2009
“Cosmic Catastrophes and Life on Earth”
Dr. Ron Buta, University of Alabama
March 2, 2009
“The Development of Pachyostosis in Mosasauroids ”
Alexandra Houssaye, National Museum of Natural History, Paris
April 6, 2009
“Terminal Cretaceous Extinction: Scenario for a Catastrophe”
Dr. Charles Smith, Geological Society of Alabama
May 4, 2009
“Fauna and flora of the Ingersoll Shale - highly fossiliferous clay lenses
in Cretaceous estuarine deposits”
Dr. Charles Savrda, Professor and Chair, Geology Department, Auburn University
June 1, 2009
“Role of Ostracodes in Characterizing the Late Cretaceous Paleogeographic
Evolution of the Caribbean region (Greater Antilles)”
Dr. Mark Puckett, University of North Alabama
July 6, 2009
“Revitalizing Alabama's largest oil field: Paleoenvironments of the Early Cretaceous
Donovan Sand, Citronelle Field, southwest Alabama”
Dr. Jack Pashin, Geological Survey of Alabama
August 3, 2009
“The Evolution of our Perception of Neandertals”
Jun Ebersole, Collections Manager, McWane Science Center
September 14, 2009
“A Science Teacher's Visit to China”
Ashley Allen, President, Alabama Paleontological Society
October 5, 2009
“Geology and Archaeology of the Redstone Arsenal”
Shari C. Vaughn (Envt Protection Specialist) & Ben Hoksbergen, (Installation Archaeologist), Redstone Arsenal, Alabama
November 2, 2009
“Carl and Tina's Utah Paleo Adventure Chapter 2, The Green River Expedition”
Carl Sloan, APS Member
December 7, 2009
“The Union Chapel Mine Ten Years After: Review of the Preservation Campaign and Potential Future Development”
APS Members Ron Buta and Prescott Atkinson
2010 Programs
January 4, 2010
“History and Geology of the Red Mountain Expressway Roadcut and an Open Discussion on Possible Future Development.”
Denny Bearce, PhD, UAB Department of Geology (retired)
and Scott Brande, PhD, UAB Dept of Natural Science and Mathematics
February 1, 2010
“Insect Fossils of the Wellington Formation”
Roy Beckemeyer, PhD, University of Kansas Natural History Museum
March 1, 2010
“Paleoclimate and Paleoecology of the Carboniferous”
Alberto Perez-Huerta, PhD, University of Alabama Department of Geology
April 5, 2010
“Paleoenvironment of the Coon Creek Formation - a Late Cretaceous Tropical Paradise”
Sandy Ebersole, PhD, Geological Survey of Alabama
May 3, 2010
“A Taphonomist’s Travels Through Germany”
Stephen W. Henderson, PhD, Associate Professor of Geology, Emory University
June 7, 2010
“Paleoecology of the Tombigbee Sand Member Caprock exposed at Catoma Falls, Montgomery Co., AL.”
Joshua R. Lively, BS, Honors Thesis, Auburn University
July 5, 2010
“Cosmic Spirals: the Galaxies that Changed Our View of the Universe”
Ron Buta, PhD, Professor of Astronomy, University of Alabama
August 2, 2010
A Sneak Peek at the New “Lost Worlds in Alabama Rocks”
Dr. Jim Lacefield
September 13, 2010
Origin(s) and Evolution of Sea Turtles
James Parham, PhD, Curator of Paleontology, Alabama Museum of Natural History
October 4, 2010
Sclerochronology: Ancient Natural History Recorded in Skeletons
Fred Andrus, PhD, Department of Geology, University of Alabama
November 1, 2010
400 Million Years on Six Legs: Evolution of the Insects
Michael S. Engel, PhD, Dept of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas
December 6, 2010
A Description of a Diverse Assemblage of Crinoids from the Pennsylvanian of Oklahoma
Dr. Ron Lewis, Department of Geology, Auburn University
2011 Programs
January 3, 2011
Geological Environments of Mars and the Conditions for Life on Another Planet
Dr. Scott Brande, UAB Geologist
February 7, 2011
The Blue Springs Fossil Locality: The Coon Creek beds of Mississippi
George Phillips, Curator of Paleontology, Conservation & Biodiversity Section, Mississippi Museum of Natural Science
March 7, 2011
The Late Pleistocene ("Ice Age") Vertebrate Record of Alabama
Jun Ebersole, Collections Manager, McWane Science Center
April 2011 Meeting Cancelled Due To Severe Weather
May 2, 2011
ArcGIS.com – Creating, Using, and Sharing Maps
Chris Ridgway, Senior Principal Geologist, Vulcan Materials Company
June 6, 2011
The Union Chapel Mine: An Educational Resource for Alabama
Ashley Allen, APS President
July 11, 2011
“Ike’s Fossil Journey from Japan to America: mosasaurs, sauropods, crocodiles, and significant others.”
Takehito Ikejiri, PhD, Dept of Geology, University of Alabama
Aug 1, 2011
“The Role of Ostracodes in Characterizing the Late Cretaceous Paleogeographic Evolution of the Caribbean Region (Greater Antilles)”
Mark Puckett, PhD, Associate Professor, Dept of Physics & Earth Science, Univ of N. Alabama
Sep 12, 2011
“THE K/T BOUNDARY AT MOSCOW LANDING: OBSERVATIONS AND SPECULATIONS”
Charles C. Smith, PhD, Geological Survey of Alabama (retired)
Oct 3, 2011
“Creek Walking in Birmingham – Shades Creek and Its Major Urban Tributaries”
James Lowery, Former APS Vice President
Nov 7, 2011
“The Astronomical Pottsville: From Rolling Tides to Milankovitch Cycles”
Jack C. Pashin, PhD, Director, Energy Investigations Program, Geological Survey of Alabama
Dec 5, 2011
“A Geological Tour Through Alabama's Landscape Regions”
Dr. Jim Lacefield, author of “Lost Worlds in Alabama Rocks”
2012 Programs
Jan 2, 2012
“Odyssey in Carbon Hill: An Astronomer's Journey into Alabama's Past”
Ron Buta, PhD
Feb 6, 2012
“Footprints in Stone: The Story Behind the Book”
Ron Buta, PhD
Mar 5, 2012
"Educational Programs in Geoscience"
Ashley Allen, APS President
Apr 2, 2012
"Biogeochemical Analysis of the Late Cretaceous Formations of Western Alabama"
Lynn Harrell, PhD student, Dept of Geology, University of Alabama
May 7, 2012
"Teeth: how they are used to identify mammals from archaeological and paleontological sites"
Jun Ebersole, Collections Manager, McWane Science Center
June 4, 2012
"An Overview of 8,274 Vertebrate Specimens from Cretaceous Marine Rocks in Alabama: Taxonomic Diversity and Fossil Distributions in Time and Space"
Takehito Ikejiri, PhD, Dept of Geology, University of Alabama
July 2, 2012
"Whispers from the Lost Continent: Paleobiogeography of dinosaurs and turtles and the diverse ecosystems of Cretaceous Laramidia"
Josh Lively, MS, PhD student, Dept of Geology, Univ of Texas at Austin
Aug 6, 2012
"Trace Fossils of the Black Warrior Basin: An Interactive Approach"
Ron Buta, PhD, Professor, Dept of Astronomy, University of Alabama
Sep 10, 2012
"The Crescent Valley Mine: a new window into Pottsville sedimentation and the habitat of Cincosaurus cobbi"
Jack C. Pashin, Director, Energy Investigations Program, Geological Survey of Alabama
Oct 1, 2012
"The bizarre early history of Alabama’s State fossil, Basilosaurus cetoides"
Jun Ebersole, Collections Manager, McWane Science Center
Nov 5, 2012
"Early Stone Age hominin carnivory: evidence from Koobi Fora, Kenya"
Stephen R. Merritt, PhD, Visiting Assistant Professor, UAB Department of Anthropology
Dec 3, 2012
"Using Rocks to Help Reconstruct the Geography of Coal Age Alabama"
Jim Lacefield, PhD
2013 Programs
Jan 14, 2013
"Exoplanets and the Search for Extraterrestrial Life"
Ron Buta, PhD, Professor of Astronomy, University of Alabama
Feb 4, 2013
Fishing for the Origins of the White Shark, Carcharodon carcharias
Dana J. Ehret, PhD, Curator of Paleontology, Alabama Museum of Natural History
Mar 4, 2013
“Footprints: An Underutilized Tool for Understanding Devonian-Carboniferous Tetrapod Evolution”* and “Ecological Persistence of Tetrapod-Bearing Fossil Forests at Joggins”**
Spencer G. Lucas*, PhD, Curator of Paleontology, New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science and Matthew R. Stimson**, Bachelor of Science Candidate, Department of Geology, Saint Mary’s University, Nova Scotia, Canada
Apr 1, 2013
"The Fossil History of Mississippi"
George Phillips, Curator of Paleontology, Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, Jackson MS
May 6, 2013
"An introduction to the Mid-Pliocoene flora of the Citronelle Formation along the northern Gulf of Mexico Coastal Plain, (including biogeographical implications and use as a climate proxy)"
Debra Stults, PhD
June 3, 2013
"Upper Mississippian Crinoids of North Alabama"
Gabe Ward, APS member
July 1, 2013
"A mosasaur from the Fox Hills Formation of the northern Western Interior Seaway and a reevaluation of the synonymy of Mosasaurus hoffmanni and Mosasaurus maximus (Reptilia: Mosasauridae)"
Lynn Harrell, PhD Candidate in Geology, University of Alabama
August 5, 2013
"Accipitridae, Falconidae, and Cathartidae - Oh My! : Using Skull Size, Body Length, and Body Mass in Extant Birds to Confirm Theropod Predator Status"
Logan King, University of Alabama Geology Student
September 9, 2013
"Ecology and Paleontology of Chalk Gully Localities of the Black Belt"
John Hall, Director of the Museum of the Black Belt, University of West Alabama
Dana Ehret, PhD, Paleontologist, Alabama Museum of Natural History
October 7, 2013
"A Guided Tour Through the New Edition of Lost Worlds in Alabama Rocks"
Jim Lacefield, PhD
November 4, 2013
“Pleistocene Ichnofauna of White Sands National Monument, New Mexico”
Drew Gentry, BS
2014 Programs
January 7, 2014
“Hunting African Sea Monsters”
Michael J. Polcyn, Southern Methodist University
February 3, 2014
“The Mystery of Paleozoic Clay Fossils”
Ron Buta, PhD, Professor of Astronomy, University of Alabama
March 3, 2014
“New Toxochelyid Material from the Upper Cretaceous of Alabama and the Trouble with Toxochelys: An Introduction”
Drew Gentry, BS, Master’s Student, UAB
April 7, 2014
"Late Cretaceous Rat Fish from Alabama”
Jun Ebersole, Director of Collections, McWane Science Center
May 5, 2014
“Birmingham Iron Ore: Solving the Ironstone Enigma”
Tim Chowns, PhD, Professor Emeritus, University of West Georgia
June 2, 2014
“Megalodon: How Did the World’s Largest Shark Live?”
Dana Ehret, PhD, Curator of Paleontology, Alabama Museum of Natural History
July 7, 2014
“La Brea "Tar" Pits and the Page Museum in Los Angeles, California: The World's Only Ongoing Urban Ice Age Excavations.”
James Lowery, APS Member
August 4, 2014
“Alabama’s Paleodiversity”
Ashley Allen, APS President
September 8, 2014
Burgess Shale slideshow from the travels of APS members Dr. Chenbei Chang and Carl & Tina Sloan
October 6, 2014
"Cretaceous Flora of the Ingersoll Shale: Alabama's Window into a Major Evolutionary Transition"
Dr. Brian Axsmith, Professor of Biology, University of South Alabama
November 3, 2014
“Living Fossil Trees: Relics of Ancient Forests and Their Place in the Modern World”
Dr. Jim Lacefield, Author of Lost Worlds in Alabama Rocks
December 1, 2014
"The Ichnology of the Demopolis Chalk and Implications for Paleoenvironmental Conditions"
Dr. Charles Savrda, Professor of Geology, Auburn University
2015 Programs
January 5, 2015
“Pathways into the Paleozoic: Key Events in the Evolution of Animal Life”
James Davison, M.D.
February 2, 2015
“Cretaceous Lamniform Sharks from Alabama: A crash course in how to identify your shark teeth”
Jun Ebersole, Director of Collections, McWane Science Center
March 2, 2015
“New Fossil Finds for the Alabama Museum in 2014”
Dana Ehret, PhD, Curator of Paleontology, Alabama Museum of Natural History
April 6, 2015
“Carl and Tina’s Burgess Shale Adventure”
Carl Sloan
May 4, 2015
“Thriving Polar Forests in Antarctica: Reconstructing Permian Forest Structure and Paleoclimate from Abundant Stumps in Growth Position”
Dr. Molly Miller, Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Vanderbilt University
June 1, 2015
“Trace Fossils of the Red Mountain Formation”
Dr. Andy Rindsberg, Associate Professor of Environmental Geology and Paleontology at the University of West Alabama
July 6, 2015
“A Tale of Two Mines: a comparison of trace fossils from the Union Chapel and Crescent Valley Mines in Walker County, Alabama”
Drs. Ron Buta and Prescott Atkinson
August 3, 2015
”The Cretaceous Marine Turtle Ctenochelys acris and a Revision of the 'Toxochelyids' of Alabama”
Drew Gentry, UAB Graduate Student (Scott Brande PhD, Mentor)
September 10, 2015
John Cooke's Paleo Garden: A Pennsylvanian Botanic Tour de Force
John Cooke and Ashley Allen
October 5, 2015
“Alabama’s Remarkable Biodiversity and Paleobiodiversity”
Jun Ebersole, Director of Collections, McWane Science Center
November 2, 2015
“Eugene Allen Smith's Alabama: How A Geologist Shaped A State”
Eileen K. Henderson
December 7, 2015
Jim Lacefield, PhD
“Geological History of Alabama Rivers: Probing the Ancient Origins of the State's Modern Aquatic Biodiversity”
2016 Programs
January 4, 2016
“Paleontology and Paleobiology of Pterosaurs (Archosauria: Pterosauria) in the Western Interior Seaway”
James Logan King
February 1, 2016
“Historic Birmingham Mineral Railroad - Past and Present”
James Lowery
March 7, 2016
“Wetumpka Impact Crater – Alabama’s Worst Natural Disaster”.
James Lowery
April 4, 2016
“Archaeological Excavations and the Paleontology of 780,000 year old Hominins in Israel”
Scott Brande, PhD, Associate Professor, UAB Dept of Chemistry
May 2, 2016
“Darwin and Paleontology: Search for the Missing Intermediates”
Dana Ehret, PhD, Curator of Paleontology, Alabama Museum of Natural History
June 6, 2016
“Recent Discoveries and New Insights into the Biology and Diversity of the Armored Dinosaurs”
Michael Burns, PhD, Assistant Professor, Jacksonville State University
July 11, 2016
“A Look at Paleozoic Surface Trackways”
Ron Buta, PhD, Professor of Astronomy, University of Alabama
August 1, 2016
“The Story Behind “Footprints in Stone”: The Coming to Fruition of a Pipe Dream”
Drs. Ron Buta and David Kopaska-Merkel
September 9, 2016
Book Signing at the Alabama Museum of Natural History: “Footprints in Stone”
October 3, 2016
“Fakes and Frauds in Archaeology”
Dr. Bruce Bizzoco
November 7, 2016
“Alabama: Paleozoic Paradise”
Ashley Allen, APS President
December 5, 2016
“The Solite Quarry of Virginia - A Window on the Triassic Rift Valleys of North America”
Brian Axsmith, PhD, Professor of Biology, University of South Alabama
2017 Programs
January 10, 2017
“A Look at Coal-Age Invertebrate Trace Fossils from the Carbon Hill, Alabama Area”
Ron Buta, PhD, Professor of Astronomy, University of Alabama
February 6, 2017
“Tales from the Southern Sea: Microfossils and the Stability of Antarctic Ice Shelves”
Becky Minzoni, PhD, Asst Professor, Dept of Geology, University of Alabama
March 6, 2017
“Why Did Ammonites Not Survive the End Cretaceous Mass Extinction?”
Thomas S. Tobin, PhD, Asst Professor, Dept of Geological Sciences, University of Alabama
April 3, 2017
“What Happens to Ecosystems When the Megafauna Go Extinct?”
Jenny McGuire, Research Scientist, Georgia Institute of Technology
May 1, 2017
“Speaking Evolution”
Producers Roger Reid and Wendy Reed
June 5, 2017
“A Work in Progress: The Significance of Alabama Fossils in the Study of Evolution”
Drew Gentry, PhD Student, University of Alabama at Birmingham
July 10, 2017
“La Brea Tar Pits and the Page Museum in Los Angeles, California - The World’s Only Ongoing Urban Ice Age Excavations”
James Lowery, APS Member
August 7, 2017
“Two Miocene Floras along the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Plain”
Debra Stults, PhD
September 18, 2017
“The Fossil Sharks and Fishes of Alabama”
Jun Ebersole, Collections Manager, McWane Science Center
October 2, 2017
“A new juvenile nodosaurid from the Late Cretaceous of Alabama: a missing link in our understanding of the developmental biology and evolutionary history of armored dinosaurs.”
Michael E Burns, PhD, Paleontol. & Vert. Anatomy, Dept. of Biology, Jacksonville State Univ.
November 9, 2017 (Univ of Alabama)
“Speaking Evolution
NPR national correspondent Debbie Elliot
December 4, 2017
“A Geological History of the Gulf of Mexico”
Dr. Jim Lacefield
February 5, 2018
“Fossils of the Dawn”
Dr. Andy Rindsberg, University of West Alabama
March 5, 2018
“An Interstellar Visitor” and “Lost and Found: George Gaylord Simpson and the Case of the Missing Footprints”
Dr. Ron Buta, Professor of Astronomer, University of Alabama
April 2, 2018
“Sea Monsters of the Cretaceous Gulf Coast: Using Isotopes in Fossil Teeth to Reconstruct Large Marine Animal Behavior”
Leah Travis Taylor, MS Student, University of Alabama Dept of Geology
May 7, 2018
“What Good Are Ostracodes?”
Mark Puckett, PhD, Professor of Geology, University of Southern Mississippi
June 4, 2018
"Carl and Prescott's Excellent Vacation"
Carl Sloan and Prescott Atkinson, APS Secretary and Vice President
July 9, 2018
"Amber Time Machine"
Ashley Allen, APS President
August 6, 2018
"Otodontids in Alabama: Insights into the Evolution of Megalodon"
Jun Ebersole, Director of Collections, McWane Science Center
September 10, 2018
“Alabama’s Latest Contributions to the Study of Marine Turtle Evolution”
Drew Gentry, PhD Student, University of Alabama at Birmingham
October 1, 2018
"The Crescent Valley Mine, Carbon Hill, Alabama: A Deep Time Portal to the Coal Age"
Ron Buta, PhD, Professor Emeritus, University of Alabama Dept of Astronomy
November 5, 2018
"The Race for Space: What's that Filter Feeder Fouling my Fossil?"
George Phillips, PhD, Curator of Paleontology, Mississippi Museum o f Natural Science
December 3, 2018
"Moscow Landing: A Virtual Field Trip"
Andrew Rindsberg, Assoc Professor of Environmental Geology and Paleontology
University of West Alabama
January 14, 2019
Wetumpka Impact Crater: Alabama's Worst Natural Disaster"
James Lowery, APS Former Vice President
February 4, 2019
"The Birmingham Ironstones and the Ironstone Enigma"
Tim Chowns, PhD, Professor Emeritus, Dept of Geosciences, University of West Georgia
March 4, 2019
""
Michael Burns, PhD, Asst Professor, Dept of Biology, Jacksonville State University
April 1, 2019
“McWane 2.0: A sneak peak at McWane Science Center’s Future Paleontology Exhibitions”
Jun Ebersole, Director of Collections, McWane Science Center
May 6, 2019
"Using the Past to protect the Future: A Paleontological Perspective on Modern Conservation Policy"
Drew Gentry, PhD Candidate, University of Alabama at Birmingham
June 3, 2019
"The What, Where, and When of “Petrified Wood” in Alabama"
Jim Lacefield and John Cooke
July 1, 2019
"Supernovae and the Chemical Elements of Life"
Ron Buta, PhD, Professor Emeritus, University of Alabama
August 5, 2019
"Chondrichthyes Evolution"
Jun Ebersole, Director of Collections, McWane Science Center
September 9, 2019
"Fossil sharks and rays from South Carolina, with comparisons to the Gulf Coastal Plain"
Dave Cicimurri, PhD, Curator of Natural History, South Carolina State Museum, Columbia, SC
October 7, 2019
"Practical Paleontologist: The Presentation, Not the Book"
Ashley Allen, President, Alabama Paleontological Society
November 4, 2019
"My Great Big Dinosaur Adventure (66 million years to today)"
Jim Braswell, APS Member
December 2, 2019
"Tales from the Field: Favorite Fossil Collecting Trips of APS Members"
Jim Braswell, Carl Sloan, Prescott Atkinson, Members, Alabama Paleontological Society
January 6, 2020
"The Fossil Record of Decapod Crustaceans"
Adiel Klompmaker, PhD, Curator of Paleontology, Alabama Museum of Natural History