Biography: Melissa Barton
As far back as I can remember, I have loved writing, science, and museums. I grew up in Oregon and spent much of my childhood exploring the landscape of eastern Oregon and rural Wisconsin, but I moved to Colorado for college. I graduated from Colorado College with a B.A. in Geology. During my time there I was a staff writer for the student monthly alternative magazine, The Cipher, and I also wrote (and continue to write) for the Colorado College Alumni Bulletin. I studied briefly in Russia (Russian language) and the Caribbean (geology), the latter aboard the Sailing School Vessel Corwith Cramer of the SEA Education Association.
I am currently a graduate student in Museum and Field Studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder, with a concentration in paleontology. I have also spent three summers as an intern and seasonal museum technician for U.S. National Park Service (NPS).
I am equally passionate about science and communication, which makes the museum field a perfect fit for me.
Writing
As a freelance writer, I have been published in a variety of places, including Geotimes, Transitions Abroad, Colorado Springs News & Views, and other magazines. I’m also a frequent contributor to Student Health 101 and the Colorado College Alumni Bulletin. I maintain the Friends of the Florissant Fossil Beds, Inc. website and edit the quarterly newsletter.
You can also read my blog about museum issues and digital technology at The Magic Word.
Science
My thesis research is focused on climate change and paleoecology at several Rocky Mountain fossil sites near the Eocene-Oligocene boundary, a time of global cooling. I am also working on a project at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science on the paleoecology of early Oligocene mammals from the Scenic Member of the Brule Formation, Badlands National Park, South Dakota.
In general, my research interests revolve around climate change and how it affects plant and animal communities, particularly during the Eocene-Oligocene cooling. I am also interested in taphonomy (how fossils are or aren’t preserved) and applying statistical methods to paleontological questions.
Museums
As a seasonal and intermittent museum technician at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, I became familiar with the NPS’s Inventory & Monitoring Program for natural resource sites, as well as NPS protocols for museum collections. I assisted organization of the T.D.A. Cockerell Expedition Centennial (2006) and in selection of specimens for new exhibits for the park (installed 2007), and I regularly handled loan and donation paperwork and requests for information from the public and researchers.
I currently hold two graduate assistantships, one in Invertebrate Paleontology and Paleobotany Collections and one in Informatics (where I am responsible for updates to the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History’s website).
Photo by Kevin J. Frost.