Bruce MacFadden, distinguished professor emeritus and former curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Florida Museum of Natural History is this year’s recipient of the Raymond M. Alf Award for Excellence in Paleontological Research and Education. The award is given by the Alf Museum of the Webb Schools (Claremont, California) to paleontologists who have made significant contributions to the field and have a strong record of K-12 outreach and education.
MacFadden, who retired in 2024, has published hundreds of scientific articles and has strongly advocated for providing high school students and teachers with a firm understanding of the fundamental methods paleontologists use to make discoveries. This has included field training for high school teachers during fossil excavations along the Panama Canal and interactive classroom activities, in which students learn to measure fossil shark teeth and use artificial intelligence to analyze them.
Source: Bruce MacFadden, bmacfadd@ufl.edu
Media contact: Jerald Pinson, jpinson@flmnh.ufl.edu, 352-294-0452