 Kara Bartley moved with her family from Montreal, QC,
to Niagara Falls, ON, at the age of six. When she was eight years old, she
visited the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto for the first time. Like many
children, she marveled at the massive 'bone animals' on display in the dinosaur
exhibit. That day, her first dinosaur book was bought and a seed was planted
as to the future of her life. "I keep that book very close to my heart.
I can still open it up and the smell takes me back to when I was eight years
old."
Kara's fascination wasn't only for dinosaur bones. As she got older, one
of her favourite games was "Operation." "I was fascinated
with the bones. I could care less whether the red nose lit up or if I lost
the game, I just wanted to pick up the bones and look at them. I think that
was also a sign, telling me not to pursue a career as a surgeon."
Her interest in animals and history continued through high school. Although
she believed that Veterinary science was where her future lay, she soon realized
her passion for studying the bones of animals, their skeletal anatomy, and
more specifically, their fossil history.
Kara has a B.Sc. from Brock University, and a post-graduate certificate
in Geographic Information Systems from Niagara College. In 2005, she graduated
from the Geology department at the University at Buffalo with a M.S. in Vertebrate
Palaeontology. As a graduate student, she traveled to Oberlin, Kansas where
she and her professor Dr. William Korth began excavating a small fossil quarry.
What started out as an ordinary dig, turned into an interesting and unusual
discovery. Excavations revealed two rhinoceros (Teleoceras fossiger) calves
and a single claw of a horned rodent.
In 2004, she presented her research at the Geological Society of America
conference in St. Louis, Missouri. In 2005 she presented her research at
the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology and Geological Society of America
conferences in Denver, Colorado.
Her research peaked the interest of the Senior Editor, Sciences, Office
of News Services at the University at Buffalo where Kara and her professors
were interviewed. The story first ran in the Wichita Eagle and then went
on to The Associated Press national news wire where it was later picked up
and shown on CNN's news scroll.
Today, Kara continues to live in Niagara Falls with her three Siamese
cats Apollo, Achilles and Agamemnon, and enjoys spending time with her horse Dapplynn. |
