Paul Sereno


Paul Callistus Sereno is a professor of paleontology at the University of Chicago who has discovered several new dinosaur species on several continents, including at sites in Inner Mongolia, Argentina, Morocco and Niger. One of his widely publicized discoveries includes a nearly complete specimen of Sarcosuchus imperator — commonly referred to as SuperCroc — found in Gadoufaoua, located in the Tenere desert of Niger.

Biography

Youth and education

The son of a mail carrier and an art teacher at Prairie Elementary, Sereno grew up in Naperville, Illinois and graduated from Naperville Central High School. He completed his B.S., Biological Sciences from Northern Illinois University in 1979, M.A. in Vertebrate Paleontology, from Columbia University in 1981, M. Phil. in Geological Sciences in 1981, and Ph.D. in Geological Sciences, in 1987.

Career

Sereno was named one of People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People.
Sereno co-founded Project Exploration, a non-profit science education organization to encourage city kids to pursue careers in science. He appeared in the 2009 DVD Dinosaur Discoveries, which included segments originally hosted by CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite. The program first aired on A&E in 1991 and was later rebroadcast on the Disney Channel through the late 1990s.
On August 14 2008, Sereno uncovered a large Stone Age cemetery at Gobero in the Nigerien Sahara, remnants of a people who lived from 10,000 to 5,000 years ago on the edge of what was then a large lake. The National Geographic based a documentary, Skeletons of the Sahara on this discovery, which premiered in 2013.

Fossil species described by Sereno or his team

Dinosaurs
Other fossil reptiles

Documentaries featuring Sereno and his discoveries

In addition to his many discoveries in the field, public communication has been a big part of Sereno's career.
YearTitleProducerFeatured Fossils
1991At the ForefrontKurtis Productions, Ltd., PBS
1992Fragments of TimeNew Explorers, PBSEoraptor
1992The Dinosaurs! - Flesh on the BonesWHYY-TV, PBSHerrerasaurus
1993The Next Generation, 1% InspirationWNET, PBS
1994Skeletons in the SandNew Explorers, PBS
1995Paleoworld - African Graveyard, Part I: Hunting DinosaursThe Learning Channel
1995Paleoworld - African Graveyard, Part II: Discovering DinosaursThe Learning Channel
1996Paleoworld - Flesh on the BonesThe Learning ChannelDeltadromeus, Carcharodontosaurus
1997Beyond T-RexDiscovery ChannelCarcharodontosaurus
1998Colossal ClawNational Geographic ExplorerSuchomimus
1998Dinosaur FeverNational Geographic Explorersauropods
1999Africa's Dinosaur GiantsNational Geographic ExplorerJobaria
2001SuperCrocNBC/NGCSarcosuchus
2006Sky MonstersNGCpterosaur
2009Bizarre DinosNGCNigersaurus, Raptorex, Mykocephale
2009When Crocs Ate DinosaursNGChannelBoarCroc, PancakeCroc, DuckCroc, DogCroc, RatCroc
2013Skeletons of the SaharaNOVA-NGTelevisionhumans
2014Bigger than T. rexNOVA-NGTelevisionSpinosaurus