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from the issue of December 15, 2005
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Brown begins titan unveiling
BY TROY FEDDERSON, UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
One of U
A boyhood fascination for fossils is helping Greg Brown dig into a one-of-a-kind Nebraska find.
Brown, the chief preparator at the University of Nebraska State Museum, is beginning the task of removing a pair of interlocked mammoth skulls from protective coverings applied when the fossil was discovered near Crawford in 1962.
Dubbed the "Clash of the Titans," the skulls represent behavior of animals not normally preserved in the fossil record.
"This is such an important fossil," said Brown, removing brown shellac to expose white fossilized bone. "To both the people of western Nebraska and to scientists who study them."
While he acknowledges the significance of his work, Brown is approaching the titans as if they were any other fossil.
"Every specimen has something to tell us, something we haven't seen before," Brown said. "As a preparator, it is my job to expose that information without doing damage to the specimen.
"That is important to me if I'm working on any fossil, from the very basic up to something like these mammoths."
Brown's desire to work with fossils began in his childhood. Growing up in a military family, Brown moved often and found nature to be more enjoyable than constantly forging friendships.
"It all goes back to me being an independent kid," Brown said. "I got interested in nature early and decided it was fun to go on hikes in the woods looking for coyote or fox bones and figure out what happened to them."
In the mid-1950s, the family moved to Alaska and Brown immersed himself in what nature could tell him. Then, the family relocated along the James River in Virginia and Brown discovered fossils.
"In the costal plains sediment I found marine fossils, about the same age as what we find here in Nebraska," Brown said. "I found all sorts of bones and fossil teeth. Since then, I've have been on a singular course."
In high school, Brown befriended Bruce Bailey - a fellow fossil fanatic who is now a paleontologist with the museum - and the two began searching for a university that offered vertebrate paleontology courses. They narrowed it down to three schools, Harvard, University of California at Berkeley and the University of Nebraska.
"Harvard wouldn't allow you to take those courses until your junior year, so that was out," Brown said. "And Berkeley at that time was more interested in political unrest than vertebrate paleontology.
"So we selected Nebraska, sight unseen."
While volunteering in the paleontology lab, Brown talked with Mike Voorhies and was invited to join a summer excavation at the Ashfall Fossil Beds in 1978. Between 1978-79, Brown helped prepare those fossil finds and in 1980 was hired on as a preparator with the university.
"I could have continued on with my education, gone on to study fossils and writer papers," Brown said. "But that never really interested me. I just like working with the fossils, preparing then for exhibits or research."
Now - as he prepares to reinforce the titans for travel and display - Brown is looking forward to the challenge the fossil represents.
"This fossil is going to be a test of my skills as a preparator," Brown said. "But, the work will be worth it when we are able to put this fossil on display for everyone to see at Trailside."
GO TO: ISSUE OF DECEMBER 15
NEWS HEADLINES FOR DECEMBER 15
Titans Unwrapped
Brown begins titan unveiling
Faculty, staff, students to aid hurricane cleanup
Group paves way for mammoth return
Hunhoff to address graduates
FROM THE ARCHIVES
POINSETTIA ROUND-UP
Rec center offers exercise options for faculty, staff
Red Carpet Service can boost community image, tourism potential
University's teaching beef herd offers hands-on learning
732295S35302X
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