Vertebrate Fossil Preparation Laboratory

Vertebrate Fossil Preparation Laboratory

The Stony Brook Vertebrate Fossil Preparation Lab is a state-of-the-art facility.  Our professional staff is equipped to perform fossil preparation on specimens as small as the inner ear bones of mouse-sized mammals, and as large as sauropod dinosaur limb bones.  Our staff also has the material and technical capabilities for molding and casting specimens for scientific research or for display.  With two fume hoods, three vacuum trunks to filter out ambient dust, and two sealed work boxes, the lab staff has excellent protection against dust, chemical, and noise pollution. Over the last several years they have taught a section of a course on fossil lab methodologies to first-year undergraduate students in the Stony Brook Women in Science and Engineering program.

Joint funding for the construction of this laboratory came from the National Science Foundation, in a grant to Drs. Maureen O'Leary and David Krause, and from Stony Brook Univeristy.