(Me in Pittsburgh at a conference with other geologists)
The fossilized head of a trilobite, Calyptaulax strasburgensis, with intricate compound eyes.
450 million years old, Virginia
The shell of a littleneck clam, Leukoma staminea, with pits in it made by parasitic worms.
<10,000 years old, Washington
A 3D X-ray microscope picture of a clam shell (red) with three little snail shells (pink) inside it. All four have been turned to iron pyrite.
450 million years old, Virginia
A scanning electron microscope (SEM) picture of the larva of a trilobite, Isotelus. It's as wide as the lead of a mechanical pencil.
450 million years old, Virginia
Before coming to Weehawken High School I taught primarily at the college level, as a teaching assistant at the University of Missouri and as a lecturer at Cornell College and the University of Pennsylvania. My courses have focused largely on fossils, the sedimentary rocks in which they are found, the history of the Earth and life on it, and ocean science.
My high school students can expect a college-like approach to course composition, with less daily homework and more weekly/biweekly problem sets. You are nearly adults, and many of you will be going off to college very soon; my goal is to encourage, nurture, prepare, and support you all as fledgling scholars going forth into the world.
YOU HAVE MY PERMISSION TO MAKE MISTAKES
A wrong answer is not necessarily a bad answer.
If you put careful thought into your response, give your best effort, and still come up with the wrong answer, you shouldn't feel bad about it. This is a learning opportunity, a chance to answer the question: if you did everything right, why is your answer wrong?
There may be a piece of information you are missing. There may be a common misconception circulating in society. There may be a simple mistake in your arithmetic, which you will get right next time.
I promise that I won't criticize you for trying your best and getting the answer wrong anyway when participating in class discussion. I ask that you show each other the same courtesy as well.
Me visiting Máximo the Patagotitan mayorum (left) and SUE the Tyrannosaurus rex (right) at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.
Note that I am wearing a mask in these photos. If you are feeling unwell or sniffly in my class, feel free to do the same!