Monica Shippritt – PCP PIRE Volunteer
I am a first-year biology student at the University of Panama. I am also a volunteer in with the PCP PIRE project. I am part of the PCP PIRE because I am interesed in learning more about the different techniques used in paleontology so I can use them in the future. I also feel passionate about discovering unknown fossil remains.
Volunteer since: June 2010
Gary Liljegren – PCP PIRE Photographer
I’m very pleased to be a volunteer with Florida Museum and the Panama PIRE Project. My wife and I have been members of the museum for some time. Our grand-daughter who currently is seven and living in Maine is totally thrilled each time she comes to see us and can visit the museum again. I am an amateur photographer since the age of nine, a radio ham since the age of 13, and have interests in paleontology, astronomy, stunt-kite flying, Harleys, and cycling. The photography aspect is the reason I wish to volunteer with the PIRE Project.
Volunteer since: January, 2011.
Juan Camilo Rojas Echeverri – PCP PIRE Volunteer
I have always been interested in paleontology. When I was a child one of my dream jobs was being a paleontologist so I could find some dinosaur bones. Although my interests now are different, i.e., directed towards the area of chemistry, I am pleased to have the opportunity to participate as a volunteer for the Panama PIRE project because I am fulfilling a dream of my childhood. I am also because I have to opportunity for exploring how my chemistry interest can be applied to this field, Paleontology.
Volunteer since: January, 2011.
Charles O’Connor – PCP PIRE Volunteer
Charles O’Connor is a retired physician, an amateur paleontologist, and was an assistant in the Vertebrate Paleontology Laboratory at the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville, FL. He received the SW FL Audubon Educator of the Year award, was a Golden Apple Teaching Award finalist, 2009 Environmental Teacher of the Year, and has presented hundreds of fossil talks to schools, fossil clubs, and community groups for 13 years. He currently teaches middle school science in Ft. Myers. FL, and is a director of the Lee County Fossil Club. He’s a skilled photographer, and is steadfastly committed to helping communities appreciate the value of paleontology.
Volunteer since: February 2011
Cindy Bear – PCP PIRE Volunteer
I am the site coordinator for the Randell Research Center (RRC), Calusa Heritage Trail, a non-profit program of the Florida Museum of Natural History. At RRC, we study and preserve archaeological evidence of Florida’s earliest human cultures. My work depends on my ability to communicate to the lay public complex findings of interdisciplinary archaeological, ecological, and ethnographic teams. My background as a professional environmental educator, teacher, and avian biologist (part-time) is crucial to my work. I hope to assist the PIRE project by being available for tasks for which the team leaders require assistance, including the mundane or difficult. For me, the opportunity to support “ground-breaking” geological and paleontological work is an honor and privilege.
Volunteer since: February 2011
Gary Bloom – PCP PIRE Volunteer
Gary Bloom has done volunteer paleontological, environmental and archeology research in Mexico, Peru and Ecuador. His professional life centers on education and leadership. He has taught and led programs at the university and K-12 levels, and has worked with educators across the United States, and in Canada, Europe, Central and South America. He is currently the superintendent of Santa Cruz City Schools in Santa Cruz California.
Volunteer since: May 2011
Katy Stonebloom – PCP PIRE Volunteer
Katy Stonebloom has done volunteer environmental and archeology research in Peru and Ecuador. She has trained teachers in democratic education in Nicaragua, Ecuador and Bolivia. Katy is a bilingual elementary teacher and currently teaches at Aromas School in Aromas California. She also serves as a trustee on the board of trustees of Cabrillo College in Aptos California.
Volunteer since: May 2011
David Smailes – PCP PIRE Volunteer
I am a retired businessman, living in Panama for just over a year. Curiosity lead me to apply to be a volunteer on this STRI project. And the unique chance to work in the Canal expansion area, searching for clues that may reveal some fascinating information about the effects of the collision, millions of years ago, of the Americas, which created the Isthmus.
Volunteer since: May 2011
Kathryn Carlson – PCP PIRE Volunteer
I am currently a high school Biology and Research teacher from New York where I just completed my second year of teaching. I graduated from Hofstra University in 2009, and am working on my Master’s degree in Hydrology from Stony Brook University. While an undergraduate, I went to Ecuador as part of a Science Major’s study abroad trip to the Galapagos, Quito, and the Amazon River Basin. I’ve lived on Long Island my whole life, so the opportunity to come to Panama is really fantastic.
Volunteer since: May 2011
Karina de los Rios – PCP PIRE Volunteer
I am a undergraduate student in biology at the University of Panama. During my time as a volunteer in the PCP PIRE my main objective will be to expand the ability to think about the past through fossil record, in order to understand evolutionary patterns, as well as apply this knowledge in science education and public outreach.
Volunteer since: May 2011
Ariadne Aizprua – PCP PIRE Volunteer
I’m a biology second year undergraduate student at the University of Panama in Biology. I’m a volunteer at the PCP PIRE Project because I would like to obtain more knowledge in different areas of biology and paleontology. Fossils, either plants or animals, grab my attention because they are remains that were part of our history, they have a story to tell us and we are here to listen to them. I am particularly interested in botany, I greatly enjoy knowing how plants evolved and were able to adapt to their environment though time in such an amazing way.
Volunteer since: May 2011
Jandery Bárcenas – PCP PIRE Volunteer
Soy estudiante de Biología en la Universidad Nacional de Panamá. Soy voluntaria del proyecto PCP PIRE. Me interesa el área de la Paleontología porque me gusta investigar, descubrir cosas nuevas, como también conocer y comprender el pasado de nuestro planeta a través de los restos fósiles. Siento que esta ciencia, la paleontologéa me brinda información, técnica y experiencia, y a la vez la puedo poner en práctica con mi área de estudio que es la Bilogía.
Volunteer since: May 2011
Madeleine Rodríguez – PCP PIRE Volunteer
Estoy muy interesada en el campo de la biología marina. Actualmente soy estudiante de Biología en la Universidad de Panamá. Me gustaría aprender más sobre la vida en el mar, la distribución de organismos marinos, y su interacción con el ecosistema. Ser parte de este proyecto me abre las puertas a éste conocimiento, además de ser una linda experiencia en mi propio país. Una de mis metas es llevar el mensaje sobre la investigación científica y sobre nuevos descubrimientos a niños y jóvenes.
Volunteer since: May 2011
Evelin Henriquez – PCP PIRE Volunteer
El proyecto PCP PIRE es de gran importancia ya que nos brinda la oportunidad de conocer el mundo de la paleontología. Soy estudiante de biología y me es un placer formar parte de este equipo. Espero poder aprender las diversas técnicas empleadas en la investigación, búsqueda y recolección de fósiles; poder contribuir a encontrar datos interesantes que ayuden a la educación. Finalmentee gustaría saber el como Panamá gracias a su posición geográfica permitió la conservación de los fósiles de diversas especies.
Volunteer since: August 2011
Maria Camila Vallejo Pareja – Biology | Universidad Nacional de Colombia 2011
I’m a biologist and I have been working at the Paleontological and Geological Project of the Panama Canal for 5 months. I am particularly interested in mammals and their ecological rolls in the ecosystems. Paleontology is an important tool that will allow me to do some ecological reconstructions.