Earth Collections: staff
Collections staff have varied research interests and maintain an active acquisition policy. Further details of their work are summarised below.
Head of Earth Collections: Miss E. A. Howlett
Collections staff:
Ms J. Hay
Dr H. Ketchum
Dr R. Knight
Eliza Howlett Head of Earth Collections
- Primarily responsible for the invertebrate palaeontology collections, but also general oversight of vertebrate palaeontology, minerals and rocks.
- Curatorial interests: collections management, digitisation, taxonomy, collections moves, working with volunteers.
- Research interests: history of palaeontology from 1650 to 1900 (especially William Buckland, Elizabeth Philpot and Charles Lyell), people and places, scientific networks.
- Current projects include: digitising the Charles Lyell fossil collection; curation of the Early Life and Cenozoic collections; inventory, conservation and re-storage of new acquisitions.
Juliet Hay Conservator
- Collections support responsibilities
- Curatorial interests: conservation and replication (moulding, casting) of palaeontological material; maintenance of conservation records; construction of geological displays, including mounting techniques, together with their monitoring and maintenance; supporting collections fieldwork activities.
- Current projects include local geology displays; creating a representational set of moulds for teaching purposes, and moulding and casting for research work.
Hilary Ketchum Collections Manager
- Responsible for the fossil vertebrates.
- Curatorial interests: collections management, digitisation, taxonomy, and Mesozoic marine reptiles.
- Current projects include: curation of Pleistocene mammals from the William Buckland collection; curation, conservation and re-storage of large Jurassic vertebrates.
Robert Knight Collections Manager
- Responsible for minerals and rocks.
- Curatorial interests: specimen identification; cataloguing the collections; acquisition of new material; developing the collections for research, education and public engagement.
- Research interests: the genesis, discovery and extraction of ore deposits; magmatic and hydrothermal processes applied to economic geology; mineral chemistry.
Enquiries regarding the collections should be sent to: earth@oum.ox.ac.uk
