The Paleontological Society is pleased to announce the fourth annual “Future Leaders in Paleontology” topical session at the 2022 GSA Annual Meeting. The goal of the session is to showcase the outstanding work of our student members in a high-profile setting. The Society will limit the number of paleontological sessions running concurrently with this special session, in order to have a prominent platform for our student members.

The Society invites all of its student members and recent graduates receiving a degree within the last year, particularly those nearing completion of their projects, to submit an abstract to GSA and fill out this Google Form. The session will bring together all types of paleontological research, spanning the full range of taxonomic groups, methods, and disciplines within our field. While advisors and other study participants are permitted to be co-authors on the presentation, the work must primarily reflect intellectual contributions of the student submitting the abstract.

The Karl-Armin Tröger Memorial Inoceramid Workshop (supported in part by the Paleontological Society) will be held this year in Warsaw, Poland during the 11th International Cretaceous Symposium (August 22-26, 2022). Inoceramids are an extinct family of marine pteriomorph bivalves which ranged from the Early Jurassic to the Late Cretaceous. While inoceramid bivalves are a powerful and increasingly used tool in Cretaceous biostratigraphy and paleoecology, their underlying systematic hierarchy, phylogenies and macroevolutionary trends have proven difficult to define and standardize.  

The Palaeontological Association's Annual Meeting: Cork, Ireland (July 18-24, 2022)

The Annual Meeting of the Palaeontological Association will be held at University College Cork (UCC). The meeting will consist of various events targeted at the general public on Monday 18th July and an early career researcher event on Tuesday 19th July. Workshops, laboratory tours and the symposium will take place on Wednesday the 20th of July, followed by the core scientific sessions (July 21 & 22). There will be a two-day post-conference fieldtrip on (July 23 & 24). 

The Paleontological Society International Research Program, or PalSIRP, is the Paleontological Society’s answer to disparities in funding for basic research in low- and middle-income countries around the world. While the program has expanded in important ways over the past two and a half decades, it has the potential to do more to address global inequities in the funding of paleontological research. Please read on for a description of this vital initiative and, if you are interested in supporting its goals, you can donate at: https://www.paleosoc.org/donate and choose PalSIRP Sepkoski Grants. 

PalSIRP was established in 1994 through the efforts of J. John (Jack) Sepkoski, Jr., after the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union and demise of the Warsaw Pact saw funding support for paleontological research in those countries all but vanish. As originally conceived, PalSIRP was a small grants program ($500 in most cases) for paleontologists living in Eastern Europe and republics of the former Soviet Union. Seed money for PalSIRP came from internal Society resources. 

Due: 5 PM (Pacific time zone), Friday March 4, 2022

Paleontological Society funds are available to support meetings or sessions organized by society members. Our first priority is to provide up to US$1000 to support stand-alone meetings, where your group is organizing the entire conference. If additional funds are available, we can also support speakers at individual sessions within larger meetings. If you are organizing a topical session within a larger meeting, we can provide US$400 per invited speaker for up to two presenters.

The Paleontological Society has a Code of Conduct that applies to society events and members, including at meetings sponsored by the society. Anyone witnessing prohibited behavior should file an allegation report with the ethics committee. We also encourage conference organizers to take proactive steps to create an inclusive meeting; many specific actions are described here.

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Mary Droser has received the National Academy of Sciences Charles D. Walcott Medal for her studies of early animal evolution and ecology. 

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Droser, a Paleontological Society member who has contributed greatly to the Paleontological Society through her numerous service activities, and to the discipline of paleontology through her teaching, mentorship of students, and exemplary good will. 

Please consider nominating one of your colleagues for Paleontological Society Fellow. Any PS member can nominate, though the nomination letter needs support from at least one PS Fellow. The deadline for nominations is February 28th. Click here for more information.

Note that the nomination process has changed. Multiple letters in support of a nominee will no longer be accepted; rather, nominators should submit a single, integrated letter, no more than three pages long, signed by at least two and no more than three PS members, at least one of whom must be an active Fellow.

The Paleontological Society is soliciting nominations for the 2022–2024 Student Representative! The new representative will serve a two-year term that overlaps with our current Student Rep Jood Al Aswad.

What do the Student Representatives do?
Student Representatives serve as voices for student needs in the Society and play leading roles in student activities including organizing student events at the Geological Society of America Conference. Student Representatives are further encouraged to develop and lead new student initiatives. In this role, students gain knowledge of the inner-workings of an international organization and experience in professional service.

Congratulations to our 2021 slate of distinguished Paleontology Society Fellows!

As Editor in Chief of the Paleontological Society’s Book/Journal Elements of Paleontology, I wanted to draw your attention to two recently published articles that highlight the breadth of Elements as well as highlight some of the publishing capabilities of the series.  Elements is more than just a series for the Paleontological Society Short Course Notes.  It publishes longer articles on a variety of paleontological topics including education and outreach in paleontology, stratigraphy, taxonomy and paleontological methods and techniques, to name a few.  As always, we are looking for content.  Feel free to contact me concerning ideas for new elements and edited volumes. 

The Stratigraphic Paleobiology of Nonmarine Systems by Steven Holland, University of Georgia; Katharine M. Loughney, University of Michigan 

This paper reviews issues surrounding the interplay of sequence stratigraphy and the fossil record in terrestrial settings 

The Paleontological Society Ethics Committee is pleased to present its second annual report to Society members about its activities and investigations conducted in association with the PS Policy on Non-Discrimination and Member Code of Conduct.

Development of a Reciprocity Agreement with GSA

Mary Anning Rocks Initiative

Virtual Policy Internship: Wrap Up

(This following is a report from Lyndsey Farrar and Stephanie Plaza-Torres, Paleontological Society / AGI Policy Interns)

The Paleontological Society is pleased to report the completion and signing of a joint Memorandum of Understanding with the National Park Service (NPS) and with the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. Although this MOU is potentially broad-reaching, one of its primary purposes is to enhance scientific efforts and stewardship of paleontological resources throughout the National Park System. The signing, which took place during a Government Affairs town hall meeting at the 2018 GSA Annual Meeting in Indianapolis, culminated a process led by Vincent Santucci, Senior Paleontologist and Paleontology Program Coordinator, to envision and develop the memorandum.  Signatories included Dave Steensen, Chief of the Geological Resources Division for the National Park Service; Bruce MacFadden, President of the Paleontological Society; and P. David Polly, Past-President of the Society for Vertebrate Paleontology, on behalf of President Emily Rayfield.  As part of the ceremony, both Societies were presented with commemorative plaques by the NPS.

This unprecedented agreement signals a new era of collaboration between the Societies and the United States Department of the Interior intended to enhance the scientific and educational viability of fossil assemblages located on lands administered by the NPS.  As part of the agreement, the NPS has pledged to undertake a needs assessment, including the establishment of a comprehensive database of instances in which parks seek guidance, support, and assistance with paleontological resources; identify opportunities for paleontologists to become involved in management and research on these resources; and establish internship opportunities for the Society’s student members.