The University of Brighton’s dinosaur expert has won two top awards.
Dr Susannah (Susie) Maidment, who tweets as @Tweetisaurus, is an expert in stegosaurian dinosaur anatomy, taxonomy and systematics, and uses geological techniques to examine paleobiological problems.
Her research hit the headlines in 2015 when she was working at Imperial College, when she and a collaborator discovered blood cells preserved in 75-million-year-old dinosaur bone.
Now at the University of Brighton, she has collected two top awards, and hopes to use them to help develop an international dinosaur research group here.
The first award is the Palaeontological Association’s Hodson Award for her 10 years research following her PhD and her contribution to science.
Her nominee said: “Susie is an outstanding early career palaeontologist who has made several highly significant and substantial novel research contributions. She has developed a strong international research reputation, generated significant external grant funding, and played an important role in promoting palaeontology through her outreach and media activities.”
Dr Maidment has also received an award from the Geological Society’s Lyell Fund, given to contributors to the earth sciences on the basis of noteworthy published research.
Her nominee said: “Susie is an outstanding palaeontologist with a track record of collaborative, multidisciplinary research that spans biology, palaeontology, sedimentology, and stratigraphy.
“She has already made numerous significant achievements in her career, as demonstrated by a series of well-regarded and cited high-profile papers. She brings a rare combination of laboratory and fieldwork skills to her research, and is an excellent communicator of her science to academia and the wider public. Susie is firmly on course to develop into a true international leader within palaeobiology.”
Dr Maidment said: “I’m extremely honoured and absolutely delighted to receive these awards. As a new member of staff, I hope to be able to build on these awards and develop an internationally-recognised research group in palaeobiology at the University of Brighton.”
