The University of California Museum of Paleontology (UCMP) is a
paleontology
Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...
museum located on the campus of the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
.
The museum is within the Valley Life Sciences Building (VLSB), designed by
George W. Kelham
George William Kelham (1871–1936) was an American architect, he was most active in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Biography
Born in Manchester, Massachusetts, Kelham was educated at Harvard University and graduated from the Ecole des Beaux-Art ...
and completed in 1930. Its collections are primarily intended for research and are, thus, not accessible to the public. A limited number of fossils from the collection is on display in the VLSB. Although located on the Berkeley campus, the museum is the primary locality for storing fossils collected statewide. The original fossils, around which the current collection has grown, were those gathered as part of the
California Geological Survey
The California Geological Survey, previously known as the California Division of Mines and Geology, is the California state geology, geologic agency.
History
Although it was not until 1880 that the California State Mining Bureau, predecessor to ...
from 1860-1867.
Website
UCMP was one of the first museums to have its own
website
A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google Search, Google, Facebook, Amaz ...
in the early 1990s, due to its location within a technology-oriented university with a good
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
connection. The site has been applauded for its use of visually appealing graphics, was nominated for a
Webby Award five times, and received a medal from the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
. It also had a cameo appearance in the movie ''
Deep Impact'', albeit under an incorrect name.
Notable figures
Annie Montague Alexander
Annie Montague Alexander (29 December 1867 - 10 September 1950) was an explorer, naturalist, paleontological collector, and philanthropist.
She founded the University of California Museum of Paleontology (UCMP) and the Museum of Vertebrate Zoolo ...
was the first benefactor of the museum, and led some early expeditions.
Faculty
Many notable paleontologists have worked as staff at UCMP. Dates given after each name indicate when the person was part of the university faculty or working in the museum.
*
John C. Merriam (1869–1945)
*
Charles Lewis Camp
Charles Lewis Camp (March 12, 1893 Jamestown, North Dakota – August 14, 1975 San Jose, California) was a palaeontologist and zoologist, working from the University of California, Berkeley. He took part in excavations at the 'Placerias Quarry', in ...
(1921-1975)
*
William Diller Matthew (1927–1930)
*
Ruben Arthur Stirton (1930–1966)
*
Samuel Paul Welles (1940–1997)
Directors
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Bruce L. Clark
The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has been a ...
(1880-1945)
#
William Diller Matthew (1871-1930)
#
Charles Lewis Camp
Charles Lewis Camp (March 12, 1893 Jamestown, North Dakota – August 14, 1975 San Jose, California) was a palaeontologist and zoologist, working from the University of California, Berkeley. He took part in excavations at the 'Placerias Quarry', in ...
(1893-1975)
#
Ruben Arthur Stirton (1901-1966)
#
Donald E. Savage
Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the ...
(1917-1999)
#
Joseph T. Gregory
Dr. Joseph Tracy Gregory (July 28, 1914 – November 18, 2007) was an American paleontology, paleontologist and professor.
Joseph Tracy Gregory was born in Eureka, California, the only child of Frank Gregory, a civil engineer, and Edith Tracy, ...
(1914-2007)
#
William B. N. Berry
William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conques ...
#
William A. Clemens Jr.
William Alvin Clemens Jr. (May 15, 1932 — November 17, 2020) was a paleontologist at the University of California at Berkeley. He was faculty of the Department of Paleontology from 1967, then the Department of Integrative Biology from 1994 to his ...
#
Jere H. Lipps
#
David R. Lindberg
David R. Lindberg (1948, U.S.A.) is an American malacologist and professor of integrative biology at the University of California, Berkeley. He is also the Curator for the University of California Museum of Paleontology and co-editor of the journ ...
#
Roy L. Caldwell
#
Charles R. Marshall
Charles Richard Marshall is an Australian paleobiologist and the director of the University of California Museum of Paleontology, where he is also a professor in the department of Integrative Biology at the University of California, Berkeley.
Ca ...
See also
*
Paleontology in California
*
Museum of Vertebrate Zoology
References
External links
UCMP websiteThe Paleontology PortalUnderstanding Evolution website
{{Authority control
Museums established in 1921
1921 establishments in California
Museum of Paleontology
Paleontology websites
California Museum of Paleontology
Natural history museums in California
Geology museums in California
Museums in Berkeley, California
Arthur Brown Jr. buildings
Science and technology in the San Francisco Bay Area
Dinosaur museums in the United States
Paleontology in California