Professor Mark Spencer earned his Ph.D. in Anthropology in 1995 from
the State University of New York at Stony Brook. An anthropologist
by training, Dr. Spencer is an evolutionary biologist at heart who
happens to specialize in the study of human ancestors. It is the study
of living diversity and the evolutionary processes of adaptation that
fascinates Spencer, and toward this endeavor he has employed a wide
variety of specialized approaches, from biomechanics and comparative
anatomy to morphometrics and paleontology. Spencerês research has
covered diverse topics such as living primate behavior and the evolution
of diet in three-million-year-old fossil humans. His expeditions and
research projects have taken him to museums and field sites throughout
America, Europe and Africa.
After several years as a Research Assistant Professor at Duke University,
Spencer now serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of
Anthropology at the University of Colorado in Denver. In addition
to his ongoing research, he teaches a variety of courses, delivers
professional and public presentations, evaluates manuscripts and proposals
for top academic journals and granting agencies, and has professional
collaborations and affiliations with individuals and institutions
worldwide.
On expeditionary projects Dr. Spencer has excavated prehistoric mammals
in Montana, tracked primates in Tanzania and South Africa, pursued
Peregrine falcon conservation efforts in Yellowstone, and explored
unmapped caves in a successful quest for Ice Age fossil remains. When
in more civilized surroundings, Spencer is both a programmer and an
artist. He wrote a unique image analysis program that is now in use
by medical and academic research labs nationwide, and his scientific
illustrations appear in numerous books and journal articles.
