HMS Faculty

As a museum professional, my interests and experience are in curation, conservation, preventive conservation, management of collections, and accreditation systems. As a Quaternary research scientist, my research interests and experience are in Quaternary paleoecology, taphonomy, paleoclimatology, and cultural systems; vertebrate paleontology, ecosystems; and geomorphology.

 

My museum career is based on the care and conservation of collections, especially natural history specimens and materials. My classes focus on all aspects of caring for museum collections and their associated data, from storage to handling to documentation. I also work with paleontology resource management issues on public lands, in situ conservation, and pre-college informal science education.

 

My academic interest lies in investigating the use of heritage resources for present-day purposes and exploring ways to safeguard them for the benefit of society. I employ a holistic approach to heritage management, encompassing diverse types of heritage resources. Intrigued by the various perspectives and conflicts surrounding them, I have studied the policy and political dynamics of heritage management, and fittingly, cultural diplomacy has emerged as one of my research focal points in recent years. In both my research and teaching, I emphasize the significance of heritage management in promoting social, cultural, and economic sustainability, while also highlighting the pivotal role played by museums.

 

Much of my museum professional life has revolved around interpretation and understanding of collections and cultural topics. Behind the scenes I have been involved with museum governance/board relations, organization bylaws, public and interpretive programming, and research, conveying stories through creative exhibit design, and facility operations and construction. I am also a historian of 19th & 20th century Texas and the American Southwest, specializing in agricultural and rural history and cultural and community topics.

 

My research interests are in geoheritage, digital heritage, photogrammetry, 3D printing, GIS, territoriality, hunter-gatherers, lithic technology, Plains environments, soils and sediments, and the use of pXRF.

 

As a museum professional my interests have been focused on how museums interpret Native American art and culture. As an instructor of museum education, I am interested in helping students understand the history of museum education, why and how it continues to change, and what the new challenges are for contemporary museum educators.