Thierry SMITH

Introduction

I am a teacher for the course of Paleontology at the University of Namur and a senior researcher in vertebrate paleontology at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS). I hold a Master degree in zoology and a PhD degree in geology and mineralogy from UCLouvain. I was a research fellow (1994-1998) at the Fund for Scientific Research (FRIA grant holder) to carry out my PhD thesis.

My research topics include the origin, evolution, paleobiodiversity, paleobiogeography and biostratigraphy of early modern vertebrates, as well as the reconstruction and paleoclimate of Cretaceous and Paleogene continental ecosystems. My expertise is particularly focused on the Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum, one of the fastest and most intense global warming events since the dinosaurs disappeared 66 million years ago. This event, which happened 56 million years ago, seems to be at the origin of the rapid dispersal of the first orders of modern mammals (primates, perissodactyls, artiodactyls, rodents, whales, bats...) via land bridges, notably in Greenland and the Bering Strait.

I am author or co-author of more than 160 full papers in international scientific journals. I am also an editor for different scientific journals and an advisor for numerous exhibitions in Belgium and France. I leaded more than 40 international paleontological expeditions (explorations and excavations) in India, China, Romania, Wyoming, RD Congo... I am expert in screen washing techniques on the field.