Graduate Students

Danny Tovar

Danny received his B.A. degree from California State University, Stanislaus. For his thesis, he is studying the Irvingtonian machairodont felids of North America. He presented a poster at the 2008 Society of Vertebrate Paleontology meeting in Cleveland, Ohio on Scimitar cat (Homotherium) specimens from the Fairmead Landfill and Irvington localities in California.

Robin Trayler

Robin received his B.A. degree in Anthropology from California State University, Fresno. He recently completed a study of mastodon (Mammut americanum) specimens in the Rancho La Brea collection of the University of California Museum of Paleontology. He is now beginning his master's thesis research on stable isotope analysis of megaherbivores and large carnivores from the late Pleistocene McKittrick tar seeps in Kern County, California. The results will permit paleoecological comparisons between the McKittrick and Rancho La Brea faunas.

Yesenia Ibarra

Yesenia received her B.S. degree in Geology from California State University, Fresno. For her senior thesis she undertook a project describing a new Giant Bison (Bison latifrons) discovery in Fresno, California. She is currently developing a master's thesis project studying rare earth elements of late Cretaceous marine reptiles and dinosaurs of the Moreno Formation in California.

Bob Koons

Bob is working on an interdisciplinary studies thesis project, examining soil compaction and recovery associated with early to mid 20th century Sierran railroad logging.