Mathew J. Wedel

I am a vertebrate paleontologist, and my main areas of interest are sauropod dinosaurs and the evolution of pneumatic (air-filled) bones in dinosaurs and birds. I study the evolutionary origin of pneumatic bones in archosaurs, the respiratory systems of sauropods and other dinosaurs, and the evolution of large size and long necks in sauropods and other prehistoric animals. I am currently an Associate Professor at Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, California, where I teach human gross anatomy to medical students. In my spare time I enjoy stargazing, and I write the monthly Binocular Highlights column for Sky & Telescope magazine. My spouse, Vicki Wedel, is an anthropologist and an author in her own right. She co-edited Broken Bones: Anthropological Analysis of Blunt Force Trauma, 2nd Ed (Charles C Thomas, 2014). We have a son, London, and we share our home with two cats, a turtle, and some fish.