Dinosaur expert Professor Peter Makovicky named Fulbright U.S. Scholar
Makovicky’s discoveries of new dinosaurs have rewritten the understanding of an entire species
MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL (08/06/2024) — University of Minnesota Twin Cities College of Science and Engineering Professor Peter Makovicky was recently named a Fulbright U.S. Scholar in paleontology and will be heading to Argentina for part of the 2024-2025 academic year to further his research and teaching about dinosaurs.
The prestigious Fulbright Scholars Program offers U.S. higher education faculty, administrators, and professionals grants to teach and conduct cutting-edge research across the globe.
Makovicky, a renowned dinosaur expert and professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, received the award based on his past success that resulted in a string of exciting discoveries including descriptions of 19 new dinosaur species. His fieldwork spans the globe with active programs in Argentina, South Africa, Antarctica, as well as the United States.
Some of Mackovicky’s discoveries have rewritten the understanding of theropod evolution–carnivorous dinosaurs that evolved throughout the Mesozoic era—in the Southern Hemisphere. For example, the description of Buitreraptor led the researchers to recognize that the Southern Hemisphere had its own family of dromaeosaurids–or raptors–distinct from those on northern continents like Velociraptor, the dinosaur species that gained fame in the movie, “Jurassic Park.”
"I'm extremely grateful to the Fulbright commission for this award,” Makovicky said. “This will allow me to expand my collaborative research on Cretaceous paleontology with Argentine colleagues and teach the next generation of paleontologists there.”
Makovicky joined the faculty at the University of Minnesota in 2019. Before coming to the University, he was the curator for the Section of Earth Sciences, Integrated Research Center and chief dinosaur scientist at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. He also had served as an adjunct professor at Northwestern University, research associate for the American Museum of Natural History, and lecturer at the University of Chicago. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biology from Copenhagen University and master’s and Ph.D. degrees in Earth and environmental sciences from Columbia University.
Along with Makovicky, two other University of Minnesota faculty members received Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program awards this year: Dr. Melissa Geller, professor at the Medical School and Dr. Sarah-Jane Mathieu, associate professor in History for the College of Liberal Arts.
The Fulbright Program, the flagship international academic exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government, has fostered mutual understanding between the United States and other countries since 1946. Each year, the U.S. Congress appropriates funds to the U.S. Department of State to sponsor the Fulbright Program. Many foreign governments contribute substantially as well. Additional direct or in-kind funding is provided by U.S. and foreign institutions of higher education, non-governmental organizations, private organizations, corporate partnerships, and individual donors.