[NHCOLL-L:2971] New VP of Research and Collections at Denver Museum of Nature & Science

[Kelly.Goulette at dmns.org]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Media Contacts:

Julia Taylor

303-370-6384

Laura Holtman

303-370-6407

 


Dr. Kirk Johnson Becomes Museum's 


Vice President of Research and Collections and 


Remains Chief Curator


 

DENVER-February  21, 2006-Today, the Denver Museum of Nature & Science
announced that well-known paleontologist, Kirk Johnson, Ph.D., is the
new vice president of research and collections and chief curator for the
Museum. 

 

"It is particularly satisfying to be able to promote someone from within
the Museum for such an important position," said George Sparks,
President & CEO of the Museum. "I am convinced that Kirk's scientific
and public credibility, passion for the Museum, and personal commitment
are what we need to make us the best regional nature and science museum
in the world."

 

Johnson was a curator of paleontology from 1991 to 2001, chair of the
Department of Earth Sciences from 2001 to 2004, and chief curator from
2004 to present. 

 

Johnson, 45, is known for his lively and entertaining lectures about his
research and travels. He joined the Museum in 1991 after earning his
doctorate in geology and paleobotany from Yale University and completing
an 18 month research position at the University of South Australia in
Adelaide, Australia. His research focus is Late Cretaceous and Early
Tertiary fossil plants and landscapes of the Rocky Mountain region. He
is best known for his research on fossil plants, which is widely
accepted as some of the most convincing support for the theory that an
asteroid impact caused the extinction of the dinosaurs. Johnson has
published many popular and scientific articles on topics ranging from
fossil plants and modern rainforests to the ecology of whales and
walruses. His research has taken him to Alaska's Bering Sea, the
Brazilian Amazon, the Canadian High Arctic, the rainforests of New
Zealand, the Gobi desert, India, Argentina, Egypt, China and the
American West. During his tenure at the Museum, he has been instrumental
in the planning and construction of several exhibitions including
Colossal Fossil Vacation, Ancient Denvers and the Museum's award-winning
exhibition Prehistoric Journey. He also coauthored the books Prehistoric
Journey: A History of Life on Earth and Ancient Denvers: Scenes from the
Past 300 Million Years of the Colorado Front Range.

 

For the last 15 years, he has worked with painters and model makers to
create accurate and credible paintings, murals, and dioramas of ancient
landscapes. He recently collaborated with artist Jan Vriesen to complete
a series of ten 8-by-10-foot paintings that depict ancient Colorado
landscapes for the new Colorado Convention Center.

 

Presently, Johnson is focusing on two major research projects, both
funded by the National Science Foundation. The first, reported in the
journal Science last April, involves the study of fossils from a 50
million-year-old crater lake in Argentina. The second is the ongoing
Denver Basin Project, a multidisciplinary effort to understand and
interpret the geology, paleontology, and hydrology of the rocks beneath
Denver. Excavation for construction projects in the Denver metro area
over the last several years has uncovered a variety of spectacular
fossils, including the remains of extinct tropical rainforests in Castle
Rock, mammoth tusks in Parker, a Triceratops skull in Brighton and the
partial skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex in Littleton. The results of
Johnson's research in the Denver Basin have led to a better
understanding of the evolution of Colorado's landscapes and the origin
of tropical rainforests.

 

# # #

DMNS-06-16

Many of the Museum's educational programs and exhibits are made possible
in part by generous funding

from the citizens of the seven-county metro area through the Scientific
and Cultural Facilities District. 

 
 
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