Curriculum Vitae Dr. Oliver Wings
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Year of birth: 1973
Nationality: German
EDUCATION
1999-2004
Ph.D., Interdisciplinary Research in Vertebrate Palaeontology
Rhein. Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn
“Identification, Distribution, and Function of Gastroliths in Dinosaurs and Extant Birds with Emphasis on Ostriches (Struthio camelus)”
04/2001 - 09/2001
Marie Curie ACE Research Fellow
Analytical, Computational and Experimental (ACE) Training in Earth Sciences; University of Bristol, Great Britain
Research Project: “Early diagenetic processes and cementation in the fossilization of tetrapod bones”
1999
Diplom (M.Sc.), Palaeontology
Friedrich-Alexander-Universität (FAU) Erlangen-Nürnberg
Diplom-Thesis, Part I: “A hardground at the end of the deposition of the Lower Tithonian Solnhofen plattenkalks - sedimentology, facies, and palaeoecology.”
Diplom-Thesis, Part II: “Geological mapping of the Middle and Upper Jurassic of the Northern Franconian Alb in the area of Burglesau, Franconia.”
1995
Vordiplom (Bachelor), Geology
Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
1991
Abitur (high school graduation)
Heinrich Mann Oberschule, Erfurt
Facharbeit / Senior Project: “Stratigraphic classification of a quarry with fossil finds”
SCIENTIFIC WORK EXPERIENCE
since August 2012
Head of the Europasaurus-Project, Lower Saxon State Museum Hannover, Germany
August 2011 – July 2012
Acting Curator of Vertebrate Palaeontology (Fossil Archosaurs), Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, Germany
August 2009 – Mai 2011 (with breaks)
Scientific advisor & excavation leader, Dinosaurier-Park Münchehagen, Germany
since September 2008
Visiting Scientist, Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, Germany
September 2005 – August 2008; April 2009, October 2010
Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Tübingen, Germany.
DFG-Project: “Palaeobiogeography and Palaeoecology of Terrestrial Vertebrates from the Jurassic of the Central Junggar-Basin /China”
November 2003 – August 2005
Curatorial Assistant, Lower Saxon State Museum, Hannover, Germany.
2-year scientific trainee position (“Wissenschaftliches Volontariat”) for museum tasks.
April – May 2004
Internship in the Vertebrate Paleontology Department of the Yale Peabody Museum, CT, USA.
July – October 2003
Research Assistant, Center for Development Research, Bonn, Germany.
Ministry-funded project “Smallholders in the Amazon: Interactions between Ecosystem and Socio-Economic System in the Use and Protection of Tropical Forests”.
November 2001
Field Assistant, Museo Paleontólogico Egidio Feruglio, Argentina.
Excavation of Mid Jurassic Dinosaurs, Chubut, Argentina.
May – July 2001
Research Fellow, University of Bristol, Great Britain.
Field Work in well-known English Vertebrate Palaeontological Sites
August – September 2000
Field Assistant & Supervisor, GEAL – Museu da Lourinhã, Portugal.
Excavation of Upper Jurassic Dinosaurs, Lourinhã, Portugal.
1997 – 2000
Curatorial Assistant, FAUniversität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany.
Main task: Management of the fossil collection
Aug.‘98, Nov.‘97, Sep.‘96
Field Assistant, Jura-Museum Eichstätt, Germany.
Excavation of Upper Jurassic plattenkalk fossils, Schamhaupten, Germany.
June – July 1997
Excavation Supervisor, University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany.
Excavation of fossils in Upper Jurassic Solnhofen limestones, Germany.
June 1996
Field Assistant, Natural History Museum Senckenberg, Germany.
Excavation of Eocene oil shales, Messel (World Heritage Site), Germany.
1995 – 1998
Research Assistant, FAUniversität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany.
March – April 1996
Field Assistant, Monash University & Museum of Victoria, Australia
Excavation of Early Cretaceous vertebrates, Inverloch, Australia.
1987-1990
Student Worker, Natural History Museum Erfurt, Germany
OTHER FIELD EXPERIENCE
08-09/2012
Palaeontological field work (excavation leader) in the Langenberg Quarry, Lower Saxony, Germany
07/2012
Palaeontological field work in Jameson Land, Greenland
04/2012, 10/2011, 10/2010, 04/2009; 04/2008; 09/2007; 09/2006; 04/2006; 09/2005
Palaeontological field work (excavation leader) in Xinjiang, NW China
05/2004
Palaeontological field work in Utah, USA
02/2003
Zoological / geological field research in Oudtshoorn, South Africa
07/2002
Vertebrate Palaeontological field trip in Wyoming, USA
06/2002
Palaeontological / sedimentological field research in the West of the USA
06/2001
Vertebrate Palaeontological excursion in the Alps, Switzerland, Italy, Austria
10/1997
Field mapping in the Mesozoic of the Helenids, Greece
07/1997
Geological excursion in the Rocky Mountains, Canada
08/1997
Palaeontological excursion in the Carnic Alps, Austria
09/1996
Geological excursion in Bornholm, Denmark
05/1996
Palaeontological excursion in Julland and Sjælland, Denmark
09/1995
Palaeontological excursion in Sicily, Italy
08/1995
Mineralogical excursion to volcanic areas, Italy
08/1995
Geological excursion in the Aiguilles-Rouge-Massif, France
07/1995
Geological excursion in the Eger (Cheb) Graben, Czech Republic
06/1995
Geological excursion in the Oberpfalz, Germany
08/1994
Field mapping in the Palaeozoic of the Cantabrian Mountains, Spain
05/1992
Palaeontological excursion in the Northern Alps, Austria
03/1992
Field mapping in the Jurassic of Franconia, Germany
05/1988
Mineralogical excursion to mining areas, Poland
OTHER EXPERIENCE
October 1992 - September 1993
Military service as a mountaineering soldier
LANGUAGES
German (native language)
English (6 years tuition + 2 years stay in English speaking countries)
Russian (8 years tuition)
Spanish (3 years tuition)
ANALYTICAL TOOLS
Fossil preparation tools
(e.g., air scribe, sand blasting, chemical preparation)
Equipment for thin section production
Microscope petrography + Computer Imaging System
Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) with EDS
X-ray Diffraction (XRD)
Cathode-Luminescence (CL)
Computer hardware: Installation and upgrade of components, connection and
configuration of external accessory devices like beamer, GPS devices, etc.
Computer software: LINUX, MAC OS, MS DOS, MS Windows, MS Office (Word, Excel, Access,
Powerpoint), presentation software, graphic programs (among other Adobe
Photoshop and Corel Draw), HTML (including several editors), bibliography
programs
ACADEMIC AWARDS AND GRANTS
2011
"The Europasaurus-Project". A large 4-year research project about the Late Jurassic Island fauna from Oker, Lower Saxony; funded by the VolkswagenFoundation.
2009
DAAD-Travel Grant for attendance of the SVP-Meeting in Bristol, UK
2007
DFG-Travel Grant for attendance of the SVP-Meeting in Austin, USA
2006
Bursary of the Palaeontological Association for the attendance of the 9th Symposium on Mesozoic Terrestrial Ecosystems and Biota in Manchester, UK
2005
DFG-Travel Grant for attendance of the SVP-Meeting in Mesa, USA
2004
"Tilly Edinger Nachwuchspreis" of the German Paleontological Society for best newcomer research in paleontology
2003
DFG-Travel Grant for attendance of the SVP-Meeting in St. Paul, USA
Scholarship of the Graduiertenkolleg „Evolution and Biodiversity in Space and Time“
2002
Associated Member of the Graduiertenkolleg „Evolution und Biodiversity in Space and Time“ in Bonn
2001
EC Marie Curie Fellowship at the University of Bristol
2000
Jurassic Foundation Field Research Grant
1999-2002
Postgraduate Scholarship of the University of Bonn
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
Society of Vertebrate Paleontology
European Association of Vertebrate Palaeontologists (Webmaster since 2007)
Paläontologische Gesellschaft (German Palaeontological Society)