Discover Magazine Selects Drexel Digital Fossil Research for Top 100 Science Stories of 2012

December 13, 2012

Scanning by a 3-D laser scanner of the humerus fossil from the dinosaur Paralititan in the lab of Dr. Ken Lacovara

For 150 years, the tools of paleontology were shovels and pickaxes, burlap and plaster. Dr. Kenneth Lacovara, an associate professor in Drexel’s College of Arts and Sciences, is working on innovative techniques in paleontology that are beginning to change that. Lacovara’s work, in collaboration with Drexel engineers, using 3-D digital scanning, 3-D printing and robotics for the study of dinosaurs, has been featured in Discover magazine’s January/February 2013 issue as one of the Top 100 Science Stories of 2012.

“This is a powerful way to see how these ancient creatures worked,” Lacovara said in the Discover article, which placed digital dinosaurs at No. 76 among the year’s top science stories.

3-D Paleontology Printing at Drexel University

Drexel University presents a whole new world of paleontology with 3D laser scanning. 3D printing allows students to study dinosaurs and other ancient creatures by examining the 3-D structure of bones. Learn more about the latest technology offered at Drexel University. More information: http://drexel.edu/coas/news-events/news/2012/February/robotic-dinosaurs-on-the-way-for-next-gen-paleontology-at-drexel/ Subscribe Now! https://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=DrexelUniv

Read more about Lacovara’s work with 3-D printing in paleontology and collaboration with Dr. James Tangorra, an assistant professor in Drexel’s College of Engineering in the news release, in-depth coverage at The Verge, or a Q&A with Lacovara and Tangorra at io9.com.

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Rachel Ewing

news@drexel.edu

Discover Magazine Selects Drexel Digital Fossil Research for Top 100 Science Stories of 2012

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