Paul C. Sereno | |
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At his laboratory in 2010
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Born |
Aurora, Illinois, USA |
October 11, 1957
Residence | Chicago, Illinois |
Nationality | American |
Fields | Paleontology (vertebrate) |
Institutions | University of Chicago |
Alma mater |
Northern Illinois University (B.S., Biological Sciences, 1979) Columbia University (M.A., Vertebrate Paleontology, 1981; M. Phil., Geological Sciences, 1981; Ph.D., Geological Sciences, 1987) |
Doctoral students | Jeffrey A. Wilson |
Known for | Discoveries in paleontology; founder of Project Exploration |
Author abbrev. (zoology) | Sereno |
Paul Callistus Sereno (born October 11, 1957) is a professor of paleontology at the University of Chicago and a National Geographic "explorer-in-residence" who has discovered several new dinosaur species on several continents, including at sites in Inner Mongolia, Argentina, Morocco and Niger. One of his most widely publicized discoveries is that of a nearly complete specimen of Sarcosuchus imperator — popularly known as SuperCroc — at Gadoufaoua in the Tenere desert of Niger.
The son of a mail carrier and an art teacher at Prairie Elementary, Sereno grew up in Naperville, Illinois and graduated from Naperville Central High School. He was then educated at Northern Illinois University (B.S., Biological Sciences, 1979) and Columbia University (M.A., Vertebrate Paleontology, 1981; M. Phil., Geological Sciences, 1981; Ph.D., Geological Sciences, 1987)
Sereno was named one of People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People (1997).
Sereno co-founded Project Exploration, a non-profit science education organization to encourage city kids to pursue careers in science.