Schoch, Robert M. 1957- (Robert Milton Schoch)

PERSONAL:

Born March 30, 1957, in Washington, DC; son of Milton Ralph and Cornelia Alicia Schoch. Education: George Washington University, B.A., 1979, B.S., 1979; Yale University, M.Phil., 1981, Ph.D., 1983.

ADDRESSES:

Office—College of General Studies, Boston University, 871 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, MA 02215. E-mail—schoch@bu.edu.

CAREER:

Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, New Haven, CT, curatorial assistant, 1982-83, research assistant, 1983-84, curatorial affiliate, 1985-1990; Schiele Museum of Natural History, Gastonia, NC, research associate, 1984-1999; Boston University, Boston, MA, assistant professor in division of science, 1984-90, assistant professor of geology, 1985-88; associate professor of natural science, 1990—.

MEMBER:

Paleontology Society, Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, Geological Society of America, Sigma Xi.

AWARDS, HONORS:

National Science Foundation grant, 1979-84; Peyton Richter Award for interdisciplinary teaching, Boston University, 1990.

WRITINGS:

(With Spencer G. Lucas) A New Species of Conoryctella (Mammalia, Taeniodonta) from the Paleocene of the San Juan Basin, New Mexico, and aRevision of the Genus ("Postilla" series), Peabody Museum of Natural History/Yale University (New Haven, CT), 1981.

A New Species of Isectolophus (Mammalia, Tapiroidea) from the Middle Eocene of Wyoming ("Postilla" series), Peabody Museum of Natural History/Yale University (New Haven, CT), 1983.

Tanyops undans Marsh, 1894, a Junior Subjective Synonym of Protapirus obliquidens Wortman and Earle, 1893 (Mammalia, Perissodactyla) ("Postilla" series), Peabody Museum of Natural History/Yale University (New Haven, CT), 1983.

(With J.D. Archibald and J.K. Rigby, Jr.) A New Subfamily, Conacodontinae, and New Species, Conacodon kohlbergeri, of the Periptychidae (Condylarthra, Mammalia) ("Postilla" series), Peabody Museum of Natural History/Yale University (New Haven, CT), 1983.

(Editor) Vertebrate Paleontology ("Benchmark Papers in Geology" series), Van Nostrand Reinhold (New York, NY), 1984.

Revision of Metacheiromys Wortman, 1903 and a Review of the Palaeanodonta ("Postilla" series), Peabody Museum of Natural History/Yale University (New Haven, CT), 1984.

Two Unusual Specimens of Helaletes in the Yale Peabody Museum Collections, and Some Comments on the Ancestry of the Tapiridae (Perissodactyla, Mammalia) ("Postilla" series), Peabody Museum of Natural History/Yale University (New Haven, CT), 1984.

Notes on the Type Specimens of Pteranodon and Nyctosaurus (Pterosauria, Pteranodontidae) in the Yale Peabody Museum Collections ("Postilla" series), Peabody Museum of Natural History/Yale University (New Haven, CT), 1984.

The Type Specimens of Tapiravus validus and Tapiravus rarus (Mammalia, Perissodactyla), with a Review of the Genus, and a New Report of Miotapirus (Miotapirus marslandensis Schoch and Prins, New Species) from Nebraska ("Postilla" series), Peabody Museum of Natural History/Yale University (New Haven, CT), 1984.

Preliminary Description of a New Late Paleocene Land Mammal Fauna from South Carolina, U.S.A. ("Postilla" series), Peabody Museum of Natural History/Yale University (New Haven, CT), 1985.

Phylogeny Reconstruction in Paleontology, Van Nostrand Reinhold (New York, NY), 1986.

Systematics, Functional Morphology, and Macroevolution of the Extinct Mammalian Order Taeniodonta ("Bulletin" series), Peabody Museum of Natural History/Yale University (New Haven, CT), 1986.

Stratigraphy: Principles and Methods, Van Nostrand Reinhold (New York, NY), 1989.

(Editor, with Donald R. Prothero) The Evolution of Perissodactyls ("Oxford Monographs on Geology and Geophysics" series), Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1989.

Case Studies in Environmental Science, West Publishing (Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN), 1996.

(With Michael L. McKinney) Environmental Science: Systems and Solutions, West Publishing (Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN), 1996, 4th edition, with Michael L. McKinney and Logan Yonavjak, Jones & Bartlett Publishers (Sudbury, MA), 2007.

(With Robert Aquinas McNally) Voices of the Rocks: A Scientist Looks at Catastrophes and Ancient Civilizations, Harmony Books (New York, NY), 1999.

(With Donald R. Prothero) Horns, Tusks, and Flippers: The Evolution of Hoofed Mammals, Johns Hopkins University Press (Baltimore, MD), 2002.

(With Robert Aquinas McNally) Voyages of the Pyramid Builders: The True Origins of the Pyramids, from Lost Egypt to Ancient America, Jeremy P. Tarcher (New York, NY), 2003.

(With Robert Aquinas McNally) Pyramid Quest: Secrets of the Great Pyramid and the Dawn of Civilization, Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin (New York, NY), 2005.

Contributor to journals, including A Modern Journal of Ancient Egypt, Geoarchaeology, Chroniques des Civilsations Disparues, Pre-Columbiana, and Atlantis Rising. Editor, Vertebrate Paleontology, 1984. Schoch's books have been translated into foreign languages.

SIDELIGHTS:

Especially known for his research on the pyramids of Egypt, Robert M. Schoch is a geologist whose interests also include paleontology, evolution, environmental science, geoarchaeology, and the world's prehistoric and ancient cultures. In 1993 the new genus Schochia, an extinct group of mammals, was named in his honor. Schoch is also the author and editor of numerous books focusing on his various areas of interest. He collaborated, for example, with science writer Robert Aquinas McNally to write Voices of the Rocks: A Scientist Looks at Catastrophes and Ancient Civilizations. The authors investigate numerous questions surrounding ancient civilizations, such as the common story of a "great flood" and the existence of the city of Atlantis. They also explore the potential role that natural disasters played in creating and destroying civilizations. Jean E. Crampon reported in the Library Journal that "Schoch does a very good job of explaining technical terms … so that they are comprehensible to the nonscientist."

Horns, Tusks, and Flippers: The Evolution of Hoofed Mammals, which Schoch wrote with Donald R. Prothero, provides an up-to-date account of scientific knowledge concerning the history of hoofed mammals. "What could be a rather dull exposition of a parade of different mammals is saved … [by] interspersed interesting historical information and anecdotes about the early work on these groups," according to J. David Archibald in the Quarterly Review of Biology.

In his second book with McNally, Voyages of the Pyramid Builders: The True Origins of the Pyramids, from Lost Egypt to Ancient America, Schoch explores his theory that ancient pyramids are found throughout the world because they are the result of prehistoric societies that spread their cultures around the globe. "His case … is carefully crafted," wrote a Kirkus Reviews contributor, who called Voyages of the Pyramid Builders "gee-whiz industriously wrapped in solid science." A Publishers Weekly reviewer commented that "Schoch's evocation of the pyramids forcefully reminds us of their enduring power as monuments to the spirit of human creativity."

Schoch collaborated for a third time with McNally for the 2005 book Pyramid Quest: Secrets of the Great Pyramid and the Dawn of Civilization. Here, the authors go against the popularly held archaeological viewpoint that the Great Pyramid was built in a relatively short time during the reign of one pharaoh around 2551-2528 B.C.E. Instead, the authors present their case that the foundations for building the pyramid go back some thousands of years earlier to 7000-5000 B.C.E. They also discuss their belief that the Great Pyramid was probably not a tomb but had some other social significance. "One need know very little about ancient history or Egyptology to be drawn into their revisionist argument," commented a Krikus Reviews contributor. The reviewer went on to call Pyramid Quest "very readable intrigue, bolstered by logic and calculations." Another Publishers Weekly contributor noted that the authors include so much "information … that it may be the only guide to the Great Pyramid most readers will ever need."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, November 1, 1999, review of Voices of the Rocks: A Scientist Looks at Catastrophes and Ancient Civilizations, p. 572; October 1, 2003, review of Voyages of the Pyramid Builders: The True Origins of the Pyramids, from Lost Egypt to Ancient America, p. 392.

Civil Engineering, December 1, 2005, review of Pyramid Quest: Secrets of the Great Pyramid and the Dawn of Civilization, p. 67.

Kirkus Reviews, December 1, 2002, review of Voyages of the Pyramid Builders, p. 1757; April 15, 2005, review of Pyramid Quest, p. 464.

Library Journal, June 1, 1999, Jean E. Crampon, review of Voices of the Rocks, p. 164.

Los Angeles Times, October 23, 1991, "Sphinx's New Riddle—Is It Older Than Experts Say?," p. A1.

Nature, October 19, 1989, review of Stratigraphy: Principles and Methods, p. 579.

New Scientist, April 28, 1990, review of Stratigraphy, p. 78; April 5, 2003, Peter James, "Bricks and Mortals," review of Voyages of the Pyramid Builders, p. 51.

New York Times, October 24, 1991, "Science's Newest Riddle: How Old Is Sphinx," p. A15; October 25, 1991, "A Very Old Sphinx May Be Older Yet; Scientist Says Erosion Rate Doubles Monument's Age—So Who Built It?," p. A13.

Publishers Weekly, April 26, 1999, review of Voices of the Rocks, p. 70; January 13, 2003, review of Voyages of the Pyramid Builders, p. 51; May 23, 2005, review of Pyramid Quest, p. 74.

Quarterly Review of Biology, J. David Archibald, December 1, 2003, review of Horns, Tusks, and Flippers: The Evolution of Hoofed Mammals, p. 483.

Science, February 6, 1987, Andrew B. Smith, review of Phylogeny Reconstruction in Paleontology, p. 696.

Science Books & Films, March 1, 2000, review of Voices of the Rocks, p. 73.

ONLINE

Boston University's College of General Studies Web site,http://www.bu.edu/cgs/ (April 23, 2007), faculty profile of Robert M. Schoch.

Daily Grail,http://www.dailygrail.com/ (February 10, 2006), "Schoch to the System—An Interview with Robert Schoch."

Robert M. Schoch Home Page,http://www.robertschoch.net (April 23, 2007).