Chiappe, Luis M. 1962-

PERSONAL:

Born June 18, 1962. Education: Ph.D.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Santa Monica, CA. Office—Department of Vertebrae Paleontology, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 900 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90007. E-mail—chiappe@nhm.org.

CAREER:

Paleontologist. American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, research associate; Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA, currently director of the Dinosaur Institute and curator of the Department of Vertebrate Paleontology; University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, adjunct professor.

AWARDS, HONORS:

John Simon Guggenheim Foundation fellowship, 1996; Alexander Humboldt Foundation fellowship.

WRITINGS:

(With Lowell Dingus) The Tiniest Giants: Discovering Dinosaur Eggs, Random House (New York, NY), 1999.

(With Lowell Dingus) Walking on Eggs: The Astonishing Discovery of Thousands of Dinosaur Eggs in the Badlands of Patagonia, Scribner (New York, NY), 2001.

(Editor, with Lawrence M. Witmer) Mesozoic Birds: Above the Heads of Dinosaurs, University of California Press (Berkeley, CA), 2002.

Glorified Dinosaurs: The Origin and Early Evolution of Birds, John Wiley (Hoboken, NJ), 2007.

(With Lowell Dingus and Rodolfo Coria) Dinosaur Eggs Discovered!: Unscrambling the Clues, illustrated by Stephanie Abramowicz, Twenty-First Century Books (Minneapolis, MN), 2008.

Contributor to periodicals, including National Geographic, Natural History, and Scientific American.

SIDELIGHTS:

Paleontologist Luis M. Chiappe's research interests include the evolution of dinosaurs, with a heavy focus on the origins of birds and how they have evolved. He is acknowledged to be one of the foremost authorities in the world on the subject. He has traveled extensively over the course of his research, particularly in Central Asia and Patagonia, and is the author of several well-respected books.

Walking on Eggs: The Astonishing Discovery of Thousands of Dinosaur Eggs in the Badlands of Patagonia, which Chiappe wrote with Lowell Dingus, recounts the events of their trip to Patagonia, where they discovered a grouping of dinosaur eggs in fossil form. The book explains how one utilizes such a find, interprets the information available, and limits conjectures to those that are reasonable given the evidence. Gilbert Taylor noted in Booklist that "although factual and methodical, Chiappe and Dingus' book still gives full rein, in text and illustration, to the imagination." A contributor to Publishers Weekly remarked that "this fascinating description of the vicissitudes of a successful dig … makes the reader feel like a member of the mission."

In Glorified Dinosaurs: The Origin and Early Evolution of Birds, Chiappe traces the history of paleontology as it relates to the evolution of birds, covering the various hypotheses through the decades as to whether or not birds actually were descended from dinosaurs. Thanks to the numerous fossils that have been uncovered in recent years, he believes that birds are so closely linked to their dinosaur ancestors that they might as well be considered dinosaurs themselves. Paul M. Barrett, in a review for the American Scientist, remarked: "Chiappe is to be congratulated on this excellent book. The text provides sufficient detail to satisfy the specialist but is written in a pleasant style that will be easily accessible to the lay reader."

Chiappe also served as editor, with Lawrence M. Witmer, of Mesozoic Birds: Above the Heads of Dinosaurs. The book compiles the work of a number of researchers regarding Mesozoic Era birds and related dinosaur discoveries, offering a reference in the wake of a number of new findings in the field. In a review for Science, Bradley C. Livezey noted that "the 31 contributors offer a variety of perspectives on their topics, despite the strong presence of the editors."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, June 1, 2001, Gilbert Taylor, review of Walking on Eggs: The Astonishing Discovery of Thousands of Dinosaur Eggs in the Badlands of Patagonia, p. 1809.

Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, May, 2003, D. Bardack, review of Mesozoic Birds: Above the Heads of Dinosaurs, p. 1579; July, 2007, D. Bardack, review of Glorified Dinosaurs: The Origin and Early Evolution of Birds, p. 1936.

Natural History, September, 2001, review of Walking on Eggs, p. 82; October, 2007, Laurence A. Marschall, review of Glorified Dinosaurs, p. 40.

New Scientist, June 30, 2001, review of Walking on Eggs, p. 54.

Publishers Weekly, May 21, 2001, review of Walking on Eggs, p. 93.

Quarterly Review of Biology, June, 2003, Alan Feduccia, review of Mesozoic Birds, p. 216; September, 2007, David B. Weishampel, review of Glorified Dinosaurs, p. 267.

Rocks & Minerals, November 1, 2001, John J. Ernissee, review of Walking on Eggs, p. 424.

Science, March 14, 2003, Bradley C. Livezey, "Millennial Status Report as Debate Wanes," review of Mesozoic Birds, p. 1644.

Science Books & Films, July, 2001, review of Walking on Eggs, p. 158; November, 2001, review of Walking on Eggs, p. 242; July 1, 2007, "560 Paleontology," p. 157.

SciTech Book News, March, 2007, review of Glorified Dinosaurs.

ONLINE

American Museum of Natural History Web site,http://www.amnh.org/ (January 15, 2008), profile of Luis M. Chiappe.

American Scientist Online,http://www.americanscientist.org/ (January 15, 2008), Paul M. Barrett, "The Mesozoic Aviary," review of Glorified Dinosaurs.

International Center for Scientific Research Web site,http://www.cirs-tm.org/ (January 15, 2008), profile of Luis M. Chiappe.

Kentucky Academy of Science Web site,http://www.kyacademyofscience.org/ (January 15, 2008), profile of Luis M. Chiappe.