Michael Joseph Ryan, Ph.D.

Coordinator of Research & Curator and Head of Vertebrate Paleontology
e-mail : mryan@cmnh.org
phone: 216-231-4600 ext 3246
fax: 216-231-5919

Visit Dr. Ryan’s blog for the latest news from the world of paleontology

Brief bio:

Michael Ryan is a Canadian who grew up in Ottawa, Ontario, home to the Canadian Museum of Nature and Canada’s national collection of fossils. Much of his youth was spent studying the dinosaur skeletons in the museum’s galleries and collecting the Silurian-aged fossils from the local quarries.

After graduating from Carleton University with a B.Sc. in Biology he moved to Alberta and starting volunteering with the (Royal) Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology.  He later obtained a B.Ed in education from the University of Alberta, and a M.Sc. and Ph.D. from the University of Calgary while working on various aspects of ceratopsian paleoecology and systematics with Dr. Philip Currie. He has variously held the positions of Head of Education and Public Programs, and Head of Field Operations for the RTMP.  He was also Head Palaeontologist for Prehistoric Animal Structures (PAST) in East Coulee, Alberta, where he oversaw and participated in the construction of numerous dinosaurs and prehistoric animals, including the full scale Brachiosaurus that was on display at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago before ‘Sue’ the T. rex made her dramatic entrance.

Ryan is currently Curator and Head of the Vertebrate Palaeontology Department for the Cleveland Museum of Natural History while also continuing his position as Chief Paleontologist for The Phaeton Group, an independent think tank involved with numerous scientific projects and dedicated to making science accessible to the public. Ryan was participated or lead research expeditions in Alberta, the western United States, Niger, Tunisia, Argentina, and Mongolia.

Ph.D. Biological Sciences University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta
M.Sc. Biological Sciences University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta
B.Ed.  Secondary Education  University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta
B.Sc.   Biology  Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario

Professional Affiliations

Geological Society of America
    http://www.geosociety.org 

The Paleontological Society
    http://www.paleosoc.org

The Palaeontological Association
    http://www.palass.org/

Society for Sedimentary Geology
    http://www.sepm.org

Society of Vertebrate Paleontology
    http://www.vertpaleo.org
 
Northern Ohio Geological Society