Donald Prothero
| Donald Prothero | |
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Donald Prothero, in the Troublesome Formation near Kremmling, central Colorado, 2008
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| Born |
February 21, 1954 Glendale, California |
| Residence | United States |
| Citizenship | American |
| Alma mater |
University of California, Riverside, Columbia University |
| Thesis | Medial Oligocene magnetostratigraphy and mammalian biostratigraphy: testing the isochroneity of mammalian biostratigraphic events |
| Known for | Mammalian paleontology |
| Influences | Malcolm McKenna |
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Website http://www.donaldprothero.com/ |
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Donald Ross Prothero (February 21, 1954) is an American paleontologist, geologist, and author who specializes in mammalian paleontology. His research has been in the field of magnetostratigraphy, a technique to date rock layers of the Cenozoic era and its use to date the climate changes which occurred 30-40 million years ago. He is the author or editor of more than 30 books and over 250 scientific papers, including five geology textbooks.
Stephen Jay Gould cited Prothero's research on the lack of response to climate change in mammals from the Eocene, Oligocene and epochs to support the punctuated equilibrium model of evolution. He called Prothero “the best punctuated equilibrium researcher on the West Coast”.
Prothero grew up in the Glendale, California area, the son of Clifford R. Prothero (1920-2004), a technical illustrator for Lockheed, and Shirley M. (McDonald) Prothero (born 1924), an artist and homemaker. He attended the University of California, Riverside where he studied paleontology under Dr. Michael O. Woodburne and Dr. Michael Murphy and earned Phi Beta Kappa during his junior year. He received his Ph.D. in geological sciences in 1982 from Columbia University, New York.
In 1991 he appeared on the television game show Jeopardy!, and defeated Ben Stein on the show Win Ben Stein's Money in 1999. He was also featured in the Mr. Deity and the Flood episode of the video series Mr. Deity. Further, he debated the Young Earth creationist Duane Gish early in his career.
For 27 years he was a member of the faculty at Occidental College, and he previously taught at California Institute of Technology, Knox College, Vassar College and Columbia University where he led many undergraduate paleontological and geological field trips. He is currently a research associate in vertebrate paleontology at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.
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