Personnel
Angela Hornsby
Angela joined the UMZM as Curator in July 2019, after completing her Ph.D. at the University of Nevada, Reno. Her primary areas of interest are small mammal biogeography and evolution, with emphasis on North American woodrats (Neotoma).
Nathanael Herrera
Nat is a Ph.D. candidate in Organismal Biology, Ecology, & Evolution. He is based in the Good Lab, focusing on chipmunk phylogenetics, speciation, and adaptation. He works on a variety of special projects for the UMZM, including outreach, curation, and helping to orchestrate the recent Museum renovations.
Erin Keller
Erin is a M.S. student in Biological Sciences. She works with Bret Tobalske in the Flight Lab, studying the mechanics of bird flight. An experienced small bird specimen preparator, Erin is working regularly in the prep lab to expand her skills to mammals and larger birds.
Nicole Phillips
Nicky is a Wildlife Biology major in her senior year. For her project, she is articulating a mule deer skeleton complete with leather straps functioning as tendons and ligaments, for hands-on learning about the anatomy and biomechanics of ungulate movement. Nicky is thankful for the opportunity the Graslie Curiosity Internship program has offered her, and she is excited about the education outreach aspect of her project.
Justin Ruby
Justin is a junior in the Wildlife Biology program. His interests include wildlife conservation research, human-animal conflict, and animal behavior. As educating the public is vital for wildlife conservation, the goal of his project is to digitize skulls and other specimens into 3D models that can be printed and used in outreach events. This will allow kids to fully manipulate a variety of skulls to see how they work, without fear of damaging the original specimens.
Larry DePute
Larry has been a dedicated volunteer in the UMZM since 2015. As a retired medical professional, his specialty of articulating bird skeletons for display developed from a lifelong love of birding and wildlife biology. His handiwork can be seen throughout Missoula, including on the UM campus and at the Montana Natural History Center. If the prep lab is open and you see someone scrutinizing a pile of bird bones, pop in and say hello to Larry!
Jeff Good
Jeff is an Associate Professor in Biological Sciences and the Wildlife Biology program. His research focuses on speciation, population genetics, comparative evolutionary genomics, and the evolution of mammalian reproduction, with frequent collection and use of museum specimens.
