Kenneth John Lacovara (born March 11, 1961) is an American paleontologist and geologist at Rowan University and fellow of the Explorers Club, known for the discovery of the titanosaurian dinosaur Dreadnoughtus and his involvement in the discovery and naming of the giant sauropod dinosaur Paralititan, as well as his work applying 3D printing technology to paleontology. Lacovara is founder and executive director of the Edelman Fossil Park of Rowan University and the author of the general-audience book, Why Dinosaurs Matter (2017), for which he received a Nautilus Book Award.http://www.snjtoday.com/story/38162555/rowan-university-paleontologist-wins-prestigious-nautilus-book-award Additionally, he serves on the Board of Scientific Advisors for Colossal Biosciences, a CRISPR-based de-extinction company that is endeavoring to bring back the woolly mammoth, and other extinct creatures. He is a recipient of the Explorers Club Medal, the highest honor bestowed by The Explorers Club.
Biography Lacovara grew up in Linwood, New JerseyAvril, Tom. "Paleontologist gets equal pleasure explaining his work", The Philadelphia Inquirer, September 7, 2014. Accessed September 22, 2022. "The carpenter's son grew up in Linwood, Atlantic County, where the coastal terrain is largely sand and mud. Then one day at a Cub Scouts meeting, when Lacovara was in second grade, an amateur geologist brought in a box of geodes and minerals." and attended Mainland Regional High School.Marino, Suzanne. "MRHS students dig the mighty tale of Dreadnoughtus discovery by alum" , The Current, February 24, 2015. Accessed June 10, 2015. "Mainland Regional High School can boast many successful alumnae. There are doctors, lawyers, politicians, NFL players, and Peace Corps volunteers, but Friday, Feb. 20, Ken Lacovara Ph.D., a paleontologist and possibly one of the most adventurous of the famous alums, stopped in to talk about what he has been up to since he left Mainland in 1978.... He graduated with honors from Rowan University in 1984. He was named Alumnus of the Year in 2002. He received a Master's degree in Physical Geography from the University of Maryland and a PhD in Geology from the University of Delaware in 1998.
Professor of paleontology and geology at Rowan University, he is former founding Dean of Rowan University's School of Earth & Environment and the founding Executive Director of the Jean & Ric Edelman Fossil Park & Museum or Rowan University. Formerly, Lacovara was a Professor of Biology at Drexel University in Philadelphia.
Discover Magazine has three times listed his work in the "Top 100 Science Stories" of the year, for 2001, 2012, and 2014. He was a speaker at the 2016 TED and INK conferences.
Lacovara is known for his work in applying high-tech tools to dinosaur paleontology, including 3D scanning and 3D printing, and robotics.
He is a resident of Swedesboro, New JerseyRiordan, Kevin. "New wave digging those fossils", The Philadelphia Inquirer, July 14, 2013. Accessed February 27, 2023, via Newspapers.com. "'It's been a rough summer for us, with the weather,' says Lacovara, who's 52 and lives in Swedesboro." and a professional jazz drummer. In 1981, he marched with the Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps as a tenor drummer.
Discoveries
On September 4, 2014, Lacovara's discovery of the giant titanosaur, Dreadnoughtus schrani, was published by the journal Scientific Reports, making international headlines. It is the most complete skeleton of a giant titanosaur discovered to date.
Lacovara was part of the team that discovered Paralititan stromeri in the Bahariya Oasis of Egypt in 2000. Paralititan was the first new dinosaur discovery in Egypt since the early 20th century and was featured in the 2-hour documentary The Lost Dinosaurs of Egypt, narrated by Matthew McConaughey and produced by Ann Druyan. The team published their findings in Science in 2001. The announcement of the new species was named by Discover Magazine as one of the "100 Top Science Stories of 2001".
In China, Lacovara was part of a team that discovered multiple skeletons of the Early Cretaceous (Aptian-Albian) aquatic bird Gansus yumenensis. Gansus filled an important gap in bird evolution, and the team published their result in Science in 2006.
Lacovara was also a member of the team that discovered Suzhousaurus megatherioides, a therizinosauroid from the Lower Cretaceous of the Gobi Desert of China.
Jean & Ric Edelman Fossil Park & Museum of Rowan University
Lacovara is the founding Executive Director of the Jean & Ric Edelman Fossil Park & Museum of Rowan University, a 44,000 s.f. museum that sits on a 65-acre property in southern New Jersey that preserves a K/Pg bonebed of vertebrate fossils and serves as a site for STEM education and outreach.
Explorers Club Medal In 2019 Lacovara received The Explorers Club's highest honor, the Explorers Club Medal , awarded for "extraordinary contributions directly in the field of exploration, scientific research, or to the welfare of humanity.". Previous recipients include Roy Chapman Andrews, Neil Armstrong, Jane Goodall, Edward O. Wilson, and Neil deGrasse Tyson.
Selected talks by Kenneth Lacovara
La Ciudad de las Ideas, Puebla, Mexico - 2016 INK, Goa, India - 2016 TED Summit, Banff, Canada - 2016 TED, Vancouver, Canada - 2016 NASA New Horizons Flyby, Baltimore, USA - 2015 TEDx Drexel, Philadelphia, USA - 2015 Linda Hall Library of Science, Kansas City, USA - 2013 iNatura, Dornbern, Austria - 2010 Explorers Club Centennial Gala - 2004
Publications Why Dinosaurs Matter. New York: Simon & Schuster/TED Books, 2017. - winner of a Nautilus Silver Book Award.
References
External links
TED Profile - Kenneth Lacovara Edelman Fossil Park of Rowan university page Linda Hall Library of Science lecture: Next-Gen Paleontology Discovery Channel, Daily Planet: Cretaceous Jersey Shore Philadelphia Inquirer: Ancient Sea Turtle Discovered in New Jersey Philadelphia Inquirer: Reconstructing a Fossil Turtle