Annual John Glenn Distinguished Lecture Brings Professor of Anatomy and Paleontology to Campus

09/26/2024

Muskingum University's Annual John Glenn Distinguished Lecture, "Fleshing out the past! Exploring dinosaur anatomy and function with advanced 3D modeling," will take place on Nov. 12, 2024, at 4 p.m. in Boyd Science Center, Room 343.

This year's speaker is Dr. Larry Witmer, Professor of Anatomy and Chang Ying-Chien Professor of Paleontology at Ohio University's Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine. An OU Presidential Research Scholar, he serves in the Department of Biomedical Sciences.

John Glenn established a legacy of science and discovery from his early days at NASA and throughout his many years in the US Senate. Today, that legacy of technological advancement extends throughout our society. The latest advances in high-tech imaging and 3D computer modeling have transformed older traditions of paleontology, allowing us to "flesh out" dinosaurs in unprecedented ways, shedding new light on dinosaur biology. Dr. Witmer will show how his team rebuilds and restores the dinosaur anatomy that time has stripped away, revealing new insights into dinosaur function, physiology, and behavior.

Dr. Witmer takes a 21^st-century approach to understanding the past. He uses the structure of past and present animals to interpret evolutionary history, combining innovative imaging with traditional methods to explore evolution of the brain, sensory systems, feeding apparatus, and thermal physiology. His areas of expertise include comparative anatomy, comparative physiology, functional morphology, vertebrate paleontology, 3D imaging and analysis, and science communication.

Dr. Witmer holds a Ph.D. in Cell Biology and Anatomy from Johns Hopkins University, M.A. in Systematics and Ecology from the University of Kansas, and B.A. in Biology from Cornell University.

Funding for the John Glenn Distinguished Lecture Series in Earth and Planetary Sciences is made possible by the Bill P. Lovejoy Fund at Muskingum University. The late Bill P. Lovejoy '51 and Martha Johnson Lovejoy '52 established and endowed the lecture series to honor the memory of John H. Glenn, Jr. '43, pioneering Mercury 7 and Space Shuttle Discovery astronaut and four-term United States Senator.

Past John Glenn Distinguished Lecture Series speakers include:

• Denison University Earth and Environmental Sciences Professor and Volcanologist Dr. Erik Klemetti
• University of Chicago William Rainey Harper Professor in Geophysical Sciences Dr. Susan Kidwell
• Conservation Veterinarian and Senior Vice President at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium and The Wilds Dr. Jan Ramer
• The Ohio State University Professor Emeritus of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology Dr. Tim Berra
• Astronaut, Physician, Explorer, and Entrepreneur Dr. Scott Parazynski.