Volunteers

Allyson Augustyn

Exhibition Developer, Geology Volunteer
The Field Museum

Allison Augustyn was an exhibition developer at The Field Museum from 2007-09, developing content and media for such exhibits as The Ancient Americas, George Washington Carver, and The Grainger Hall of Gems. Allison grew up in northern Wisconsin, developing her affinity for natural history by helping her father in his fish business, which included assisting in such tasks as separating egg embryos out of the stocks with an eye-dropper. That experience may or may not come in handy on this trip, where she will be helping to separate fossil fish from the matrix in which they have been embedded for more than 50 million years.

Jessie Augustyn

Geology Volunteer
Chicago-Kent College of Law

Jessie Augustyn is a recent graduate of Chicago-Kent College of Law. Like Allison, she grew up separating egg embryos out of the stocks with an eye-dropper. She has a strong connection to animals (especially the family dog, Morgie), and will help discover some new (52-million year old) animals as part of Dr. Grande's fossil excavation team.

Ryan Augustyn

Geology Volunteer
University of Wisconsin

Ryan Augustyn is going into his second undergraduate year at University of Wisconsin, Madison, where he studies, among other things, engineering, geology, and psychology. Like his sisters Allyson and Jessie, Ryan also grew up around fish, is an excellent marksman, and brings his love of the outdoors to this, his first stint at fossil excavation.

Robert W. Crawford Jr. & Family

Trustee, Geology Volunteer
The Field Museum

Robert W. Crawford Jr. (far left), a Trustee of The Field Museum, has joined Field Museum scientists on expeditions to Peru, Cuba, and Mexico. An enthusiastic supporter of the Museum, he was very excited to share his love of the outdoors, of science, and of discovery with one of his sons and two of his grandsons on this trip. Robert W. Crawford III (third from left) was thrilled to join the Green River expedition this year and has been going to The Field Museum since his childhood. He's looking forward to learning about the process of digging and collecting specimens in the field and discovering how the work of the Field Museum impacts the larger scientific community.

Stephen Gieser & Family

Founder's Council, Geology Volunteers
The Field Museum

Steve Gieser is a member of the Steering Committee of the Field Museum Founder's Council, and his many passions include geology, and fossils in particular. Steve volunteers in the paleontology preparation labs, where he gets hands-on experience. He returns this year for his second field season as part of Dr. Grande's crew, alongside his daughter, Ellen, and wife, Ruth Williams. Ruth, a fossil aficionado and an active supporter of Field Museum science, has been a volunteer on Dr. Grande's excavation team for two years.

Randy & Eva Kurtz

Volunteers
The Field Museum

Randy Kurtz is a Field Museum Trustee with a long-standing interest in natural history and evolution. As an investment banker at Deutsche Bank, Randy doesn't get many chances to do real fieldwork, so he really looks forward to the dig. This is his second year as part of the excavation team at Dr. Grande's site, where he'll be volunteering alongside his daughter, Eva. Eva Kurtz is a student at Brown University. She served as an intern in the Anthropology Department at The Field Museum in 2007, and this year marks her second field season as part of the Green River field team.