Research

Why do some clades evolve into aquatic environments and not others? Using insights from vertebrate morphology, biomechanics, locomotion, and computational fluid dynamics we explore the factors that facilitate and constrain these transformations.

Once in an aquatic environment, how do animals locomote? Kinematics, muscle reconstructions, range of motion studies and more can help us understand the performance of extinct secondarily aquatic animals for which limited or no modern analogs exist. This provides insights into the evolution of aquatic movement, and the diversity of movement in vertebrates throughout time.

The Western Interior Seaway, a great shallow sea that divided North American into two landmasses, has accessible formations across the interior of the United States and Canada. They contain numerous, often highly complete marine reptile fossils. Specimens that are ripe for both functional and phylogenetic analyses. We are interested in exploring new field sites that could provide insights into the evolution of mosasaurs.

The Formorphology Lab, currently under construction, will be in Rutgers’ Foran Hall, a large building primarily dedicated to lab facilities. Our lab will have a small wet lab space with a fridge and freezer, intended for anatomical dissection specimens, as well as a protected inner room with two high-power gaming desktops, a Wacom tablet, 3D printer, and collections cabinets for comparative osteological specimens.

New Jersey, through numerous local airports (Newark, JFK, La Guardia, Philly) and the Northeast Corridor Rail Line, has great domestic and international access to institutions for data collection and collaboration. Additionally, the Formorphology Lab has a close relationship with the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan, and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.