Manitoba Museum Curator Dr. Graham Young Wins Bruce Naylor Award

(Winnipeg, MB; October 25, 2012) - Dr. Graham Young has been named  the winner of the 2012 Bruce Naylor Award. Dr. Young is Curator of Geology and Paleontology at The Manitoba Museum.

The Bruce Naylor Award is named for the former director of the Royal Tyrell Museum of Paleontology. Dr. Naylor, who passed away in 2007, had also served as president of the ANHMC. The award was presented at a special reception of The Alliance of Natural History Museums of Canada (ANHMC) on October 22 in The Speaker’s Reception Room in the Centre Block of Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

“The Manitoba Museum has really been an ideal location for a person like me,” says Dr. Young. “Manitoba is about the size of France, but is little-known geologically. With my colleagues, I have been able to be an explorer, seeking things that no one has ever seen before.”

Dr. Young has devoted his career to researching and interpreting the evolution of life and ecosystems through geological time. Dr. Young and his associates have made several significant fossil discoveries including the world’s largest recorded trilobite, two new sites in Manitoba that reveal the existence of ancient tropical shorelines, and a new ancient genus of horseshoe crab identified through fossil specimens collected in Manitoba. Most of his current field research is on sites in the Grand Rapids Uplands as well as elsewhere in northern Manitoba.

Dr. Young has curated numerous exhibits at The Manitoba Museum, including Parklands/Mixed Woods Gallery and led the development of significant exhibits such as The World’s Largest Trilobite, Cretaceous Life and most significantly, Ancient Seas. The latter brings to life the marine ecosystem of 450 million years ago, when the Churchill area was covered by a tropical sea. Ancient Seas received the Canadian Museums Association Award of Outstanding Achievement in Exhibits in 2011.

Graham Young grew up in Fredericton, New Brunswick. After doing a B.Sc. in biology at the University of New Brunswick, he switched to geology and completed a M.Sc. in Paleontology at the University of Toronto. After completing a Ph.D. at the University of New Brunswick in 1988, Graham spent two years in Newcastle, England studying fossils from the Island of Gotland, Sweden. He moved to Winnipeg in 1990 to do research at the University of Manitoba, and has worked at the Manitoba Museum since 1993.

Dr. Young’s frequently writes about his work and keeps a regular blog at:

http://www.manitobamuseum.ca/main/geology_paleontology/

Created in 2003, the ANHMC has 17 members from coast to coast. Its goal is to increase visibility of Canada’s natural history museums, which are responsible for preserving precious collections of millions of specimens that are the record of our natural heritage. The network strives to build capacity in the areas of scientific research, collections development and education about the natural environment, for the greater benefit of all Canadians.  

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For more information or interviews, contact:

Greg Klassen

Communications Specialist

The Manitoba Museum

Direct Line:  204-988-0614

Email: gklassen@manitobamuseum.ca