Jack Stack Pursues His Paleontological Dream

Some paleontologists travel far and wide to seek new fossils—to the remote regions of China or the farthest tip of Argentina. Jack Stack, C’19, on the other hand, made his first paleontological discoveries much closer to home.

At home, in fact.

“When I played outside as a kid, I started finding bits of invertebrates, corals and shells in the gravel that was dumped there,” says Stack. It wasn’t long after those driveway discoveries that Stack started keeping an eye out for fossils wherever he went.

Now, Stack has published articles and a book, initiated and led several research projects, given talks at leading scientific conferences, and is an active member of the lab of Lauren Sallan, Martin Meyerson Assistant Professor in Interdisciplinary Studies.

“Most undergraduates, you bring them into the lab and they don’t necessarily know what they’re interested in,” says Sallan. “Jack has the direction and drive of an advanced graduate student.”

Since arriving in Philadelphia, Stack has embarked on other research projects with Sallan. Using fossils, he redescribed an ancient long-nosed fish species called Tanyrhinichthys. He presented his findings in a talk before an international gathering of fish paleontologists in Chęciny, Poland.

Photo credit: Eric Sucar