DinoBite: Kate Ritterbush, Ph. D.

Sunday, January 26, 2:30 - 2:55 p.m.

Bringing Fossils to Life With Robots and Video Games

In the same way that fossil teeth can tell us which dinosaurs ate meat or plants, fossil sea shells of ammonites can tell us which of these squid-like animals could swim fast, maneuver well, or cruise efficiently. We make 3D models of ammonite shells and then use computers and custom robots to measure how hard it would be for these animals to swim. When we put the results into the new Ancient Oceans game using Unreal Engine, the result is a fun-filled visit to the underwater worlds of the Jurassic and beyond!

About the Speaker

Kate Ritterbush, Ph. D., is an Associate Professor at the University of Utah. She uses fossils, computers, and experiments to reconstruct ancient ocean ecosystems. Her favorite fossil animals are ammonite, whose sea shells tell us how these extinct animals might swim, glide, twirl, or bob their way through life.