Purdue News

January 29, 1999 Dinosaur expert to lecture Feb. 23 at Purdue WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Robert T. Bakker, renowned paleontologist and consultant to the "Jurassic Park" films, will give a free lecture at Elliott Hall of Music at Purdue University on Tuesday, Feb. 23. "Dr. Bob, the Dinosaur Guy" will begin his presentation at 7 p.m. with a session especially for children featuring the drawing of dinosaurs. Then at 7:30 p.m. he will deliver a lecture for all ages. His appearance is presented by Purdue's Department of Convocations and Lectures. Bakker is considered the scientist most responsible for the "Dinosaur Renaissance," a wave of new ideas about these Mesozoic monsters. Starting in the 1960s, Bakker argued that dinosaurs were not giant lizards, but rather hot-blooded bird relatives. These revolutionary views have since won over much of the popular and technical opinion about dinosaurs. While in West Lafayette, the scientist and author will meet with local educators under the auspices of Purdue's Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. Interested educators should contact outreach coordinator Ken Coles at (765) 494-0668 for more information and reservations. Bakker consulted with the artists who made the special-effect dinosaurs for the movies "Jurassic Park" and "Lost World." The New Yorker magazine said Bakker is the single most important inspiration for the "Jurassic Park" novels and movies. He was the only real-life scientist mentioned by name in the script of "Jurassic Park" and was also the model for the character Dr. Burke in the film "Lost World." Currently adjunct dinosaur curator for the Tate Geological Museum at Casper College in Wyoming, Bakker has appeared on network TV shows such as "The Tonight Show" and "Good Morning America" and the award-winning "Paleo-World" series on The Learning Channel. A crusader who believes that scientific discoveries should be shared with public school teachers as well as with professors, Bakker has organized scientific conferences where paleontologists talk to educators. He has been a featured speaker at 25 state and national science teachers' association workshops. In addition, Bakker has worked with World Book to bring dino-science into the classroom through easy-to-understand encyclopedia articles and teaching kits. He has contributed articles to World Book Encyclopedia, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Scientific American, Discover magazine, and McGraw Hill Encyclopedia. His book "Dinosaur Heresies" is a standard text in current paleontology. Bakker also has written two novels, "Red Raptor" and "Raptor Revenge." CONTACT: Sue Stevens, Convocations publicist, (765) 494-5045; e-mail, snstevens@convos.purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu To the Purdue News and Photos Page