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Chris Moreira, a recent graduate of the Student Career and Success Center and aspiring paleontologist, just added another milestone to his growing resume: presenting original research at
the 2025 Geological Society of America Rocky Mountain Section Meeting in Provo on May 19, 2025.
Chris served as lead author on a research poster highlighting his work identifying ancient shark and ray teeth from sediments collected in ant hills across south-central Utah. The project came out of a microfossil internship under the mentorship of Dr. Josh Lively at the USU Eastern Prehistoric Museum,
part of Science Moab’s School to Science program.
Over the past year and a half, Chris has participated in several paleontology-focused job shadows and internships through the program.
Chris graduated last month and has received a full scholarship to attend a paleontology field camp this summer. This fall, he’ll begin studying geology and paleontology at Southern Utah University.
“Chris has already reached the top and made it to the other side of so many obstacles, and it is exciting to see where his efforts will take him next—college, an ankylosaur dig site, naming a species of cretaceous shark, or following the ant piles that lead him to the next big paleontological discovery!” said teacher Alyssa Sherman.
Chris’s attendance was made possible by the Geological Society of America, the Gastonia Chapter
of Utah Friends of Paleontology, and Sue Sternberg.
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