Meet our Past Interns
Our interns have brought curiosity, dedication, and fresh perspectives to the team, contributing to research, fossil discoveries, fieldwork success, and inspiring outreach that helps bring science to life. Their hard work and passion continue to make a lasting impact on our mission.
Daniel holding a fragment of Diplodocus bone at the Mother’s Day Quarry, 2022. Photo by D. Dunfee.
Daniel Dunfee
2022 Field Intern
Daniel Dunfee started out as a 2022 field intern and graduated that year from the Honors Tutorial College of Ohio University with a degree in Geological Sciences, a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish, and a minor in paleontology. He worked on his undergraduate honors thesis in WitmerLab under the mentorship of Dr. Lawrence Witmer, and used complex 3D visualization software to study the change with growth in the skulls of a small herbivorous dinosaur from the Late Jurassic Morrison Formation of Utah called Dryosaurus elderae.
Where are they now?
Daniel returned to the team in 2023 as a Field Technician, his current position. He has recently completed a master’s program in Geological Sciences at Ohio University, expanding on his undergraduate work on Dryosaurus elderae in WitmerLab.
Jeb after jacketing a fossil at the Mother’s Day Quarry in 2022.
Jeb Bugos
2022 Field Intern
Jeb graduated from Case Western Reserve University in 2021 with a degree in evolutionary biology and anthropology, spending most of their undergraduate career as a volunteer fossil preparator at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. They have also worked on research focused on the Triassic dinosaur Coelophysis, specifically the cranial anatomy and ontogeny of Coelophysis bauri specimens from Ghost Ranch, New Mexico. Jeb first joined the Elevation Science expedition in 2019 as a student, returning in 2021 as a volunteer. In 2022, they were selected as one of our two field interns.
Where are they now?
Jeb is currently the Collections Manager of Vertebrate Paleontology at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.
Meghan in the field holding a horned lizard at the Andersen site in 2023. Photo by S. Walker.
Meghan Forcellati
2023 Field Intern
Meghan is an evolutionary biologist. A native of Bergen County, New Jersey, she grew up cherishing yearly family trips to the American Museum of Natural History. She has been doing evolutionary research since she was fifteen years old, and has several years of research experience working at the American Museum of Natural History. In high school, she went on an expedition with Elevation Science with her mother in 2017, and then returned solo in 2018. Her experiences there solidified her interest in pursuing evolution professionally and nixed any distant relative’s hope of her becoming that other kind of doctor.
Meghan went to Columbia University where she majored in Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology and minored in Statistics. During her time there, she worked in research across four different labs, was a published author on one paper, won several awards for presenting her work nationally and internationally, was granted the Laidlaw Fellowship, was provided an NSF REU grant for research in historical DNA methods at the American Museum, and was an NSF GRFP honorable mention. The many hours she spent living in the American Museum during this time gave her experience in many different fields, including geometric morphometrics, paleogenomics, ornithology, herpetology, vertebrate paleontology, systematics, and bioinformatics. She graduated magna cum laude, with departmental honors and Phi Beta Kappa.
Where are they now?
Meghan is currently a PhD candidate at the Richard Gilder Graduate School (American Museum of Natural History) studying amphibians and reptiles.
Antonio teaching during a nature walk at the Yellowstone-Bighorn Research Association in 2023. Photo by S. Walker.
Antonio Armagno
2023 Field Intern
Antonio Armagno was a student in Elevation Science’s GEO 491 class in the summer of 2021. They graduated in the fall of 2021 from the University of Montana in Missoula, with a BA in Biology and a BFA in Theater. At the University of Montana, Antonio volunteered with Kallie Moore, the Collections Manager at the University and one of the hosts for PBS Eons. Antonio worked on digitizing inventory for a 1982 graduate thesis on Late Permian corals, bivalves, and gastropods from Montana.
Where are they now?
Antonio is currently completing their graduate studies in hopes of earning a Master’s degree in biology at DePaul University in Chicago, IL. They will also be returning in the 2025 field season as a Program Assistant.
Peter posing at the M&M dig site in 2024, juvenile Allosaurus. Photo by S. Walker.
Peter Rhynard
2024 Field Intern
Peter Rhynard grew up searching for critters in the woods and hunting for fossils in the Ordovician rocks of Dayton, Ohio. His love for natural history led him to Ohio University, where he is pursuing a B.S. in Biological Sciences with minors in Paleontology, Geology, and Museum Studies. Under the guidance of Dr. Lawrence Witmer, his undergraduate research is focused on using computed tomography (CT) data to reconstruct the skull of the notorious Allosaurus jimmadseni specimen Big Al (MOR 693). Outside of paleontology, he has worked with wild reptiles of the Chesapeake Bay at the Poplar Island Environmental Restoration Project (PIERP) and contributed to exhibit design with Ohio University’s Department of Geological Sciences and the Kennedy Museum of Art.
For updates on Peter’s ecological escapades, follow him on Instagram at @goopaleo.
Where are they now?
Peter is currently completing his undergraduate degree at Ohio University with WitmerLab and will be attending Virginia Tech as a PhD candidate.
Shion holding a sauropod toe bone from the SW site. Image by S. Walker
Shion Newsom
2024 Field Intern
Shion Newsom, an undergraduate student at the University of Florida, is currently pursuing a B.S. in Geology and a B.A. in Biology with a minor in Japanese Language. Her fascination with paleontology was sparked by her discovery of marine fossils in her elementary school’s playground and exploration of the Peace River in Florida. She also frequently travels to Japan, where she visits museums and fossil-rich quarries. At the University of Florida, Shion volunteers for the Department of Vertebrate Paleontology prepping fossils in the lab and excavating fossils at the Montbrook dig site. In the past, under the guidance of Dr. Richard Hulbert, she has worked on turtles, specifically the genus Trachemys, which are well known at the Montbrook site.
Where are they now?
Shion recently completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Florida, researching samples of crocodyliform teeth from Bogotá, Colombia, under the guidance of Dr. Jonathan I. Bloch. She will be acting as a Paleontology Research and Collections intern at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences for summer 2025 and will be starting graduate school in the fall at Vanderbilt University.
Adam M. Johnson
2025 Field Intern
Adam Johnson is one of our field interns for the 2025 field season. He recently graduated Magna Cum Laude from Old Dominion University (ODU) in Norfolk, Virginia with a Bachelor of Science in Biology. His previous experiences with Elevation Science have inspired him to pursue a vertebrate paleontology graduate program after gaining more hands-on experience in the field. Adam first discovered Elevation Science through Jason Schein and Jason Poole’s appearance on the I Know Dino podcast, and he has volunteered in each of our expeditions since 2022. His passion for our ongoing dig sites is apparent and infectious, and he is thrilled to be sharing that excitement with this year’s participants.
Adam spent much of his young adult life as a veterinary assistant, working alongside his veterinarian father at a small family-owned animal hospital in Virginia Beach. He began his career in public science communication while volunteering at the Virginia Aquarium and later continued his volunteer work at the Virginia Zoo. In his time studying at ODU, he gained collections management experience while identifying and categorizing the natural history museum’s vertebrate material.
During the off-season, Adam enjoys beachcombing along the James River for fossil material that helps him better understand what the conditions of his home state were like millions of years ago. This passion behind his love for fossil-hunting also drives his fondness for thrift shopping, both activities centering around giving a new life to something that has outlived its initial purpose. On a day off you can find Adam reading science fiction, playing video games, and hanging out with his cat, Luna.
Declan Fahy
2025 Field Intern
Declan Fahy is another field intern joining us for the 2025 season. He is currently a senior at State University of New York (SUNY) at Geneseo, New York and is working towards a major in biology with a minor in geology. Although it's his first time with the Elevation Institute, he has some previous experience in the paleontological field. He is part of a research lab with a resident paleontologist at Geneseo, studying forelimb morphology of Yutyrannus huali and will be traveling to Birmingham, UK this year to present his research at the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP) annual conference.
When he’s not in the lab, Declan enjoys skiing the scattered mountain tops of upstate New York and road tripping to hidden hiking spots. When he’s not outdoors (which isn’t often!), he likes spending time with family and friends and also eating lots of food.
