Press

ALBANY, N.Y. - The New York Natural History Conference VI will take place at the New York State Museum from April 26 through April 29. The biennial conference updates scientists, educators and students on natural history research in northeastern North America, focusing on New York State.

The Museum is hosting the conference which is organized by the New York State Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI).

"The conference addresses paleontology, archeology, ecology, conservation and many other disciplines," BRI biodiversity specialist Karen Frolich said. "It also forges links among students, government agencies and universities. The conference creates a lively, exciting atmosphere at the museum, filling the exhibit halls with active researchers. The most exciting thing about it, though, is that it often results in new ideas for groundbreaking projects and research," Frolich said.

The keynote speaker at the conference will be Dr. Daniel Fisher whose talk will address "Mastodont and Mammoth Extinction in the Great Lakes Region of North America." Dr. Fisher is Professor of Geological Sciences and Curator of Paleontology in the Museum of Paleontology, University of Michigan. He holds a Ph.D. from Harvard University in geological sciences, and taught at the University of Rochester for several years before joining the faculty of the University of Michigan in 1979.

His current research focuses on the paleobiology and extinction of mastodonts and mammoths and also on use of temporal data in analyzing evolutionary relationships.

The Natural History Conference coincides with Focus on Nature VI: Natural History Illustration, an exhibition of scientific illustration that will be on display from April 26 through July 30 in the Photography Gallery.

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*For more information on the conference, visit www.nysm.nysed.gov/nhc.html