Deep Time with Dr. Advait Jukar
Advait Jukar (PhD, 2017) is an ESP graduate who is a current Deep Time – Peter Buck Postdoctoral Fellow at the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH). The Deep Time Buck Fellowship Program is a two-year postdoctoral fellowship for research in Paleobiology relating to the goals of the Deep Time Initiative at the National Museum of Natural History. This fellowship involves 75% time commitment to research and 25% time commitment toward advancing science education at NMNH through direct interaction with our public.
The Deep Time (DT) initiative at the Smithsonian is focused on understanding connections between 4.6 billion years of environmental change, the diversity of life, and the future of our species on Earth. The four focal themes for Deep Time research, exhibits, and outreach include: 1) evolution of organisms, 2) evolution of ecosystems, 3) earth processes, 4) connections among these forces including to our human past, present and future. Through understanding of the fossil and geological record, the Deep Time Initiative seeks to inform and inspire the global community about connections between the past, present, and future of life on Earth and help create citizens for a changing planet.
From Advait via email:
“As a Deep Time fellow, I will be studying the structure of herbivore assemblages in the Mesozoic and Cenozoic in order to understand the similarities and differences between dinosaur and mammal dominated systems. I will also be comparing mammal communities today to those of the past to understand the effect of human pressures on ecosystems. I will be working directly with Dr. Matthew T. Carrano, the curator of Dinosauria in the Department of Paleobiology at the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH). I will also spend part of my time developing new educational and public outreach programs for the new Fossil Halls at the NMNH.”
