"Digital Cretaceous" at the NMNH (Smithsonian) -Reply

["Ralph Chapman" <Chapman.Ralph@NMNH.SI.EDU>]

Actually, the biological baggage part was not intended to dissuade
those that might be interested with biological knowledge and
engineering knowldge, but to encourage those without such to feel that
they might also make a significant contribution as well. We always
welcome real biomechanics types and I am already bringing some in as
well. So if you want to play, givbe me a ring and we'll talk. People
are interacting along a long time frame as circumstances and
serendipity allow so, so far, we have had starter chats with Bob
Walters, Bruce Mohn, Greg Paul, Scott Sampson, Peter Dodson, Cathy
Forster, Kent Stevens among others. Phil Currie just saw the first
animations, briefly,  and was nice to see again, etc. Many many more
to go including that Ray guy, I presume.

HH who wrote it was a very nice man, although he got lots of his info
from others.

Anyway, we are really looking towards having Triceratops be an
experimental animal which will be available, in some form, to all who
want to "play". Has been eating up mass quantities of my time lately,
which explains my quietness on the list.

Ralph Chapman

>>> "RAY STANFORD" <STARSONG@prodigy.net> 06/17/99 12:46pm >>>
    Those of you who have access to MECHANICAL ENGINEERING, Vol. 121,
No. 6,
June 1999 may find the article featured on their cover (via a
computer-reconstructed Triceratops scull image) quite interesting.

    That cover uses the name quoted in the subject of this message,
but the
article (pages 54 - 57) inside is titled, "Relief for WEARY BONES",
subtitled, "New Engineering tools -- and some enterprising
technologists --
are helping the Smithsonian's dinosaurs stand up taller and stronger. 
It
was written by Harry Hutchinson, Managing Editor of MECHANICAL
ENGINEERING.

    The first person mentioned in the article is this list's on Ralph
Chapman, who heads the NMNH's morphometrics laboratory.

    The article gives some interesting details about equipment,
software,
and persons who responsible in the NMNH's Triceratops reconstruction
project, etc.  It also says that NMNH is, "...looking for a few
interested
mechanical engineers," to work with them on a voluntary basis, but it
stresses the museum is interested in volunteers, "...with no
biological
baggage", so that may eliminate otherwise-interested mechanical
engineers
(if there are any) who are on this list.   However, interested
engineers --
the article tells us -- can reach Ralph Chapman at
chapman.ralph@nmnh.si.edu