The Role of Institutional Centers in the Development of     American Vertebrate Paleontology
{'Code': '08080301', 'Directorate': {'Abbreviation': 'BIO', 'LongName': 'Direct For Biological Sciences'}, 'Division': {'Abbreviation': 'DBI', 'LongName': 'Div Of Biological Infrastructure'}}
{'SignBlockName': 'Ronald J. Overmann', 'PO_EMAI': None, 'PO_PHON': None}
Vertebrate paleontology has attracted the attention of the                      general public for decades.  In the first decade of this century,               the infamous "Piltdown Man" was discovered in a field in Britain                but was shown to be a chimera in l953.  More reputable                          discoveries include the famous Peking Man, lost during the                      Japanese invasion of China, and "Lucy,"  2.8 million-year-old                   skeletal remains where over half the individual was recovered,                  found in Hadar, Ethiopia, by Donald Johanson under an NSF grant                 in the 1970's.  The public is less familiar with vertebrate                     paleontology as a serious interdisciplinary science.  The                       emergence of vertebrate paleontology as a well defined, well                    organized field of scientific inquiry in the period from 1850 to                1930 involves a delineation not only of who practiced it and what               that practice entailed, but also importantly the different                      institutional settings that gave American paleontology its form                 and structure.  Essential to Dr. Rainger's inquiry is the                       consideration of the half dozen or so most important centers                    where scientists, collectors and preparators pursued research,                  learned methods and techniques for work in the laboratory and the               field, and laid the foundations for scientific careers.                                                                                                         Specifically, Dr. Rainger will examine archival materials under                 this grant in order to obtain new information and insights into                 the research of prominent individuals and the context within                    which they worked. These are housed in the U.S. Geological                      Survey, the Smithsonian Institution, the National Archives, the                 Library of Congress, and the U.S. National Museum.  The history                 of science will be enriched by this examination yielding                        information on the ways in which institutions provided financial                support for, developed an infrastructure of facilities and staff                for, and promoted work in the science of vertebrate paleontology.
{'FirstName': 'Ronald', 'LastName': 'Rainger', 'PI_MID_INIT': 'K', 'PI_SUFX_NAME': None, 'PI_FULL_NAME': 'Ronald K Rainger', 'EmailAddress': None, 'NSF_ID': '000424435', 'StartDate': '10/15/1987', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Principal Investigator'}
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{'Code': '135300', 'Text': 'Hist & Philosophy of SET'}
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