Ned Colbert and the MNA

[WILLIAM PARKER <wgp@dana.ucc.nau.edu>]

Hello all,
        Just returned from Edwin Colbert's surprise 94th birthday party.  He
was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed himself immensely.  For anyone
curious, Ned has had a rough year with a couple of bad falls.  As a
result he is now using a wheel chair, but the mind is sharp as ever.  He
is currently writing a book about his Antarctic expeditions in the late
60's.  He and Margaret are both doing well and it is great to see Ned
back at work.
        Also the Museum of Northern Arizona paleo program is back in business. 
New curators David Gillette and Barry Albright have worked hard to get
the prep lab back up and running, and for the community at large to know
there are things happening at the museum again.  We have some cool
projects going on at this time.  I'm currently preparing a new specimen
of Desmatosuchus sp..  The material is in extremely good condition, is
mostly complete (minus the limbs (damn scavengers!), I'm praying for
cranial material) with a good amount of articulated (and complete)
vertebrae, ribs, an outstanding pelvic girdle, and of course a ton of
armor.  I'll be presenting some preliminary results and photos at SVP
next month.  In addition Dave Gillette is preparing some Plesiosaur
material from the Tropic Shale of Utah.  In the future we hope to start
work on some Allosaurus material from where else? Utah!

Again just a quick note to let everyone know we are alive and getting
well here in Flagstaff.

__________________________
Bill Parker
Department of Geology
Northern Arizona University
Box 4099
Flagstaff, AZ 86001
__________________________