Bruce MacFadden
Bruce MacFadden. Florida Museum photo by Jeff Gage

In May 2018, Bruce MacFadden was named the inaugural director of the UF Thompson Earth Systems Institute.

On the UF Faculty since 1977,  MacFadden is currently distinguished professor at the Florida Museum. He received his bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and his Ph.D. in geology from Columbia University, with a specialization in paleontology.

He is the author of 200 peer-reviewed scientific articles and 1992 book on Fossil Horses (Cambridge), and has been principal investigator on more than 50 external grants, mostly from the National Science Foundation totaling nearly $40 million. In 2009-2010 he was a Program Officer in the Education directorate at NSF and in 2015-2016 was a Visiting Scientist at the Santa Cruz County Office of Education (California).