Staff
David Dyer, Curator
office: (406) 243-4743
email: Dave.dyer@mso.umt.edu
Education:
M.S., Museum Studies, University of Nebraska - Lincoln
B.S., Zoology, The Ohio State University
Areas of Interest: Curation of Natural History Museum Collections
Mammalian Osteology, Identification of Vertebrate Remains, Museum Exhibits,
and Zooarchaeology.
Brief Background: Dave has worked for a variety of natural history museums
for over 30 years, including the University of Nebraska State Museum, Cincinnati
Museum of Natural History, and the Natural History Department of the Ohio Historical
Society. He has served as Curator, Collections Manager, and Exhibit Preparator. Dave is
interested in all aspects in the operation of natural history museums, but his jobs have in
one way or another been involved with the vertebrate skeleton, from building and curating
comparative skeletal collections, to working in faunal analysis, and articulating casts of
large Pleistocene mammal skeletons for exhibit.
Emily Graslie, Volunteer Curatorial Assistant
Education: BFA, University of Montana - Missoula
Brief Background: Emily completed an internship with
the UMZM during her undergraduate degree and went on to
become a full-time volunteer for the museum. Her focus in the
collections revolves around executing the daily tasks required
with running a natural history facility, including processing and
filing new donations and loans, preparing specimens for the
collection, giving tours, training volunteers and interns, and
acting as the TA for Vertebrate Osteology. She also promotes
the creative and productive work of the UMZM through various
Internet social media, including authoring the Museum's
tumblr.com page. Emily is currently pursuing her Master of
Arts in Museum Studies through the Johns Hopkins University,
and is completing her research in the UMZM collections.
Sam Case is a junior studying Wildlife Biology and Art, and currently
expresses an interest in Ornithology and preparing study skins of birds. He has
volunteered for the UMZM since Summer 2011, and has used the collections for
informing his wildlife artwork.
Charles Miller is a volunteer bird preparator at the museum. He also serves
as a naturalist at the Montana Natural History Center.
Emily Kerr is a senior studying Zoology with an interest in herpetology. She
volunteers in the laboratory assisting in preparing specimens for the collection.
Duggan Backhouse-Prentiss is a student with a strong interest in museology and monotremes, and has been assisting in the
completion of curatorial work since the Fall of 2011.
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Past Staff
Jonathan Hardes, Research Associate
Brief Background: Jon worked as the assistant curator at the P.L. Wright Zoological Museum from 2003 to 2006. His additional experience with museum collections includes work with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Interior Museum Program, Glacier National Park, the University of Montana Department of Anthropology, and the Robert S. Peabody Museum of Archaeology. Jon is currently working as an archaeologist in Kotzebue, Alaska.
Shannon Gilbert is a local Zooarchaeologist who has co-taught
the museum's Vertebrate Osteology course.
Becky Bigley has worked in nearly every area of
the museum, including serving as the teaching
assistant for Vertebrate Osteology.
