Meet the Science Authors: Fossils and the Evolution of Modern Birds

Details will remain under embargo until Thursday, 15 June 2006 at 2 PM EDT.
Thursday, 15 June 2006 AAAS Auditorium 1200 New York Avenue, NW Washington DC	Program: Refreshments 6:00PM Lecture and Video Presentation 6:30PM Questions from Guests 7:30PM

One block from Metro Center on blue/orange/red lines.

The lecture is free and open to the public

Seating is limited. All guests are requested to RSVP by contacting AAAS Development at development_events@aaas.org or at (202) 326-6636.
Directions to the lecture.

Presented by the

AAAS Fund for Excellence

The speakers – Dr. Hai-lu You of the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Dr. Jerald D. Harris of Dixie State College, and Dr. Matthew C. Lamanna of Carnegie Museum of Natural History – will describe their latest fossil discoveries related to the evolution of modern birds.

The research, directed by Dr. Hai-lu You and sponsored in part by the Discovery Quest Program for The Science Channel, appears in the 16 June issue of the journal Science, published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

The evening’s presentation includes a short clip from The Science Channel’s special feature, “Rise of the Feathered Dragons,” which will air Monday, 19 June at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Welcoming remarks will be offered by Dr. Alan I. Leshner, chief executive officer for AAAS and executive publisher of the journal Science. Dr. Brooks Hanson, Science’s deputy editor for physical sciences, will introduce the speakers and serve as moderator of the question-and-answer session.

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	DR. HAI-LU YOU is Senior Researcher of Vertebrate Paleontology at the Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences in Beijing. He received his Ph.D. degree in Earth and Environmental Science from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, in 2002. His current research focuses on the anatomy and phylogeny of horned and duck-billed dinosaurs and Mesozoic birds, as well as their paleoecology, paleoenvironment, and biogeography. Dr. You led numerous international expeditions to dig for dinosaurs in the land of the dragon, China, and with others, he has named eight new dinosaur genera since 2003, including the largest-toothed herbivorous dinosaur in the world.
	DR. JERALD D. HARRIS is Director of Paleontology in the Science Department at Dixie State College, St. George, Utah. His discoveries have included a new diplodocoid sauropod (Suuwassea) from the Morrison Formation (Upper Jurassic) of Montana. His research interests include Mesozoic biotas and paleoecology; evolutionary rates, patterns, and processes; phylogenetic systematics and taxonomy; taphonomy and the fossilization process; and paleobiogeography, biostratigraphy, and their phylogenetic implications. Dr. Harris received his Ph.D. degree in Earth and Environmental Science, with an emphasis on Vertebrate Paleontology, from the University of Pennsylvania in 2004.
	DR. MATTHEW C. LAMANNA is Assistant Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He published his first Science paper in 2001, while he was still a graduate student, after his friend and co-author, Josh Smith, spotted a bone protruding from sand in Egypt’s Bahariya Oasis. The bone proved to be a fossil from one of the largest dinosaurs ever discovered, a giant sauropod from an Upper Cretaceous mangrove deposit (Science, 26 October 2001). Dr. Lamanna received his Ph.D. degree in Earth and Environmental Science in 2004 from the University of Pennsylvania. His research interests include non-avian and avian dinosaur evolution, paleoecology, and paleobiogeography.

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Location and Directions
The lecture will be held in the AAAS auditorium located at 1200 New York Avenue, NW, Washington DC. Please use the entrance on the 12th Street NW side, at the intersection with H street, and proceed to the 2nd floor. (The New York Avenue entrance is locked after 5:00PM)

To arrive by metro:
From the metro center station (access from blue, orange, and red lines) exit to 12th and G streets. Go one block north. Building is on the northwest corner of H and 12th Street NW.