2006-2007 - The Field Museum

At its most fundamental level, scientific research facilitates education and training. The first
recipients of the new theories and new discoveries we generate are our professional peers. During the
past year the scientists in Collections and Research published more than 250 book chapters, peerreviewed
articles, and essays in popular publications. Those articles are read, discussed, assigned in
graduate classes, and cited in subsequent research. All of this work ultimately weaves together to form a
complex knowledge base and foundation for training programs in the natural and anthropological
sciences. Every publication, whether the description of a new species of lichen, or new details about the
lifeways of an ancient Peruvian culture, adds to that foundation.
And this knowledge should not be taken as an isolated, ivory tower endeavor. The research conducted
by our scientists implicitly and sometimes explicitly helps build educational content for our exhibitions.
The new permanent exhibition Ancient Americas, which is scheduled to open March 9, 2007, is a shining
example. The first stage in the renovation of our Americas halls, this 19,000 square foot installation is
squarely grounded in the research carried out by our archaeological faculty on the rise of complex
societies. MacArthur Curator Jonathan Haas was the lead curator on the project, with major contributions
from Curator Gary Feinman, and Associate Curators Ryan Williams and Antonio Curet. Almost exactly a
year ago another spectacular permanent hall opened, Evolving Planet, which charts the evolution of life
on earth over the last 600 million years; like Ancient Americas, Evolving Planet was a true collaboration
between Field Museum scientists and the Exhibitions team, a forum for the latest scientific thinking on its
subject, and a showcase for Field Museum research and collections. Likewise, groundbreaking DNA
research carried out in the Pritzker Lab for Molecular Systematics and Evolution was highlighted in the
Field-originated traveling exhibition Gregor Mendel: Planting the Seeds of Genetics (which runs through
April 1, 2007)—case studies of “Modern Mendels” in the exhibition’s final section include the project led
by Associate Curator of Birds Shannon Hackett on the evolutionary tree of birds, and Pritzker Lab
Manager Kevin Feldheim’s ongoing studies of the mating patterns of lemon sharks in the Bahamas and
Brazil. Among other major exhibition projects, Larry Heaney of Mammals is the lead curator the Crown
Family Playlab, an early childhood learning center slated for opening in fall 2007.
Our papers in Nature and Journal of Evolution are echoed in our exhibits, as well as public lectures, and
classrooms—indeed, many of our new discoveries are unveiled not just in specialized journals, but on the
front pages of newspapers across the land. Examples of Field Museum research from 2006 that made
headlines include a new genus of monkey (co-authored by Negaunee Collections Manager Bill Stanley of
Zoology), a new fossil water buffalo (described by Curator Larry Heaney of Zoology and colleagues), a
study of the evolution of Madagascar’s biodioversity (Field Biologist Steve Goodman of Zoology and
colleagues), the “fish without feet,” Tiktaalik, discovered by Provost Neil Shubin and crew, and the case
against the purported new hominid species (aka the “Hobbit”) from Flores, Indonesia (a team led by A.
Watson Armour III Curator Robert Martin and Adjunct Curator Jim Phillips of Anthropology). In these and
many other cases, today’s academic paper is tomorrow’s water-cooler talk—peer-reviewed research with
popular impact—and thus of inestimable importance in deepening the public’s understanding of
biodiversity and evolution.
Much of this research grows out of fieldwork—and our field sites are also “classrooms.” 2006
saw Field Museum scientists crisscrossing the globe, surveying biodiversity hotspots, documenting new
species, or seeking out evidence of ancient life forms and past civilizations, as far away as Tibet and as
close as Kankakee county, from the bitter cold of the Arctic to the coral atolls of Micronesia—and in the
process, training young scientists. Fieldwork is instrumental in building that world knowledge-base—not
just from the new flora and fauna or ancient cultural patterns it uncovers, but through up-close training
that can only be had on an expedition. Training has long been part and parcel of museum expeditions,
but in recent years it has taken on an added importance as we address several increasingly urgent
needs: raising science literacy in K–12 students, strengthening the expertise of overseas scientists, and
the increase of scientific knowledge about little-studied organisms.
Domestic field work and student training. Field training is especially valuable for young learners who are
just whetting their appetites for science, and in addition to many research and collections internships
(which can be reviewed in the “Training Programs” section of this report), the Field Museum hosts two
notable programs that involve high school students in real field projects. Senior Vice President and Head
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