Dr. Bruce J. MacFadden
UF Distinguished Professor, TESI Director, & Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology
Florida Museum of Natural History, Thompson Earth Systems Institute (TESI)
Gainesville, Florida 32611-2710
bmacfadd@ufl.edu
Professional Preparation
B.S. Cornell University, 1971; M.Ph. 1974; Ph.D. Columbia University, 1976
Short Bio
On the UF faculty since 1977, Bruce is the author of several books and more than 200 peer-reviewed professional articles. He has been a principal investigator on more than 50 external grants, mostly from the National Science Foundation, totaling more than $35 million. A vertebrate paleontologist by training, specializing in fossil mammals, he has been the President of both the Paleontological Society and Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. Bruce teaches courses on vertebrate paleontology and Broader Impacts, and has been the major professor of two dozen UF graduate students.
Current External Funding
2022 to 2025 (estimated), Principal Investigator and Project Director (PI/PD), NSF project 2147625, Integrating AI Machine Learning into the Teaching of Paleontology Using Fossil Shark Teeth in Middle Schools, $1,275,109.
Professional Employment History and Related Appointments
1977 to present. Assistant, Associate, “Full” Curator (professor rank), and now Distinguished Professor; Chair of academic department, Associate Director (dean rank) of Exhibits & Public Programs; currently inaugural Director, Thompson Earth Systems Institute (TESI), University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
2015—2016. Visiting K-12 Scientist, Santa Cruz County (CA) Board of Education (sabbatical)
2009—2010. Program Officer, Lifelong Learning Cluster (EHR, DRL), National Science Foundation, Arlington VA (IPA rotator)
1994. Senior Research Fellow, Fulbright, La Paz, Bolivia (Museo de Historia Natural)
1993. Visiting Scholar, Department of Geology & Geophysics, University of Utah (NSF-funded sabbatical)
1989—1990. Visiting Scientist, Institute for the Study of Continents (INSTOC), Department of Geological Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY (sabbatical)
1976—1977. Gibbs Instructor, Department of Geology & Geophysics, Yale University, New Haven, CT