Auburn professor’s research indicates Tyrannosaurus rex, Velociraptor dinosaurs had lips, contrary to popular belief

Auburn University’s Thomas Cullen is part of an international collaboration of researchers that has uncovered evidence indicating, contrary to popular belief, theropod dinosaurs like the Tyrannosaurus rex and Velociraptor had lips that covered their teeth.

Cullen — an assistant professor in the College of Sciences and Mathematics’ Department of Geosciences — and his colleagues published their findings on Science.org that contradict the mainstream traditional view about the appearance of the iconic extinct animals. Their groundbreaking research, originally covered by Science.org, has several important implications for understanding the animals’ biology and evolution.

Watch a theatrical performance of the founder of nuclear fission and then hear from one of the world’s foremost leaders in astronomy in this year’s Duncan Memorial Lecture

This year’s Duncan Memorial Lecture offers an exciting evening celebrating both the arts and sciences in one event. Anna Frebel, professor of physics and head of astrophysics at the MIT Kavil Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, will give a theatrical performance as nuclear physicist Lise Meitner and then return to herself and speak on the topic of Understanding the origins of the elements on Thursday, April 13 at 4:45 p.m. in the Sciences Center Auditorium.

Hear from Emily Balskus at the Schneller Frontiers Lecture on April 5

Please join us for this year’s Schneller Frontiers Lecture where Emily Balskus from Harvard University will deliver her talk titled Deciphering the Human Gut Microbiome with Chemistry. The lecture is scheduled for Wednesday, April 5 at 3:45 p.m. in SCC 115. The host is Rahul Banerjee.

Emily Balskus received her B.A. with highest honors in Chemistry from Williams College in 2002. After obtaining an M.Phil. in Chemistry as a Churchill Scholar at the University of Cambridge, Emily pursued graduate studies at Harvard University under the mentorship of Prof. Eric Jacobsen. She received her PhD in Chemistry in 2008 and then joined the lab of Prof. Christopher Walsh at Harvard Medical School as a postdoctoral fellow. In 2011, she joined the faculty of the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Harvard University as an assistant professor and she is currently the Thomas Dudley Cabot Professor of Chemistry. She is also an Associate Member of the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, a Faculty Associate of the Microbial Sciences Initiative at Harvard, and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator.

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