Staff Spotlight
Dr. David L. Dilcher
Curator of Paleobotany
254 Dickinson Hall
Museum Road & Newell Drive
Gainesville, FL 32611
(352) 273-1944
Email: dilcher@flmnh.ufl.edu
Ph.D. Biology, Geology, Yale University 1964
Concurrent Appointments
- Graduate Research Professor in the Florida Museum of Natural History
- Adjunct in Departments of Botany, Geology and Zoology
- Appointed to the Latin American Studies Program at UF
- Honorary Professor at Jilin University, Chenchung, China
- Honorary Professor at the Najing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Nanjing, China
Research Interests
Origin and Evolution of the Angiosperms, evolutionary trends in the angiosperms Paleoclimate, relationships of CO2 to temperature and precipitation fluctuations in the past, the use of Cuticle (stomatal index) and foliar physiognomy in interpreting past climates, Phytogeography of plant distributions in the past as related and contrasted with modern vegetation.
Current Field Work
Lower Cretaceous research in Brazil, China and Spain and mid continent USA. Eocene plant-bearing sediments of the Mississippi Embayment (western Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi and Texas)
Ongoing Outreach Projects
Undergraduate students working in my laboratory, summer programs with students working in the Paleobotany lab.
Courses Taught
Paleobotany, Paleobotany Seminar, Introductory Biology
Graduate Students
Shusheng Hu, Department of Geology, Ph.D. student
- Interpretations of the paleoenvironments of deposition of mid Cretaceous plant-bearing sediments from the Dakota Formation in Minnesota and Kansas.
Paula Mejia, Department of Botany, M.S. Student
- Pollen analysis of Lower Cretaceous sediments from Colombia.
Staff
Dr. Hongshang Wang - Collection Manager
Terry Lott - Research Assistant
Dr. David Jarzen - Research Collaborator
Dr. Elizabeth Kowalski - Research Collaborator