Dr. Sharon Weaver is a vertebrate paleontologist with a wide variety of excavation experiences and research across the US and through time. She has participated in multiple National Science Foundation grants that have allowed her to travel for research and share her experiences with scientists and the public. In 2018, she received her PhD in Biology from the University of Florida where she specialized in carnivoran forelimbs. It was here that her interest in public education and 3D technologies grew. She earned a MS in Geosciences from East Tennessee State University working on giant ground sloths from a cave in Alabama and a BS in Geology from South Dakota School of Mines and Technology focusing on giant short-faced bears. Even though her research has been mainly mammal based, she has come back to where her excitement in paleontology began, to dinosaurs. Sharon is a Senior Paleontologist at the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research where she oversees preparation of fossils, the 3D laboratory, and the reproduction of scientifically accurate cast replicas sold to museums around the world. In the last couple of years, Sharon has become more involved with cave paleontology and caving in general. This caving adventure has led to many new partnerships with non-profit organizations and further research opportunities. She is passionate about sharing the love of science and all the different ways people can study paleontology.
Dr. Weaver serves on the Board of Directors of the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research and the National Speleological Society. She is a member of the Geological Society of America, the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, and the Association of Applied Paleontological Sciences. Sharon is also a member of the Paha Sapa Grotto, Cave Research Foundation, Cave Conservancy of Hawaii, and the Hawaii Grotto. She is an active research associate of the Don Sundquist Center of Excellence in Paleontology and The Mammoth Site of Hot Springs, SD. Dr. Weaver has a number of publications on late Pleistocene fauna, cave faunas, and mammalian forelimb morphologies.
Language spoken: English
Photo credit: ARR