Prof signs copies of new dinosaur book

The arrival of Peter Dodson and his dinosaur bones at the University in 1974 put the institution back on the map as a source for paleontology research -- and yesterday Dodson held a book-signing and discussion to announce his new book. Dodson, a professor of Veterinary Anatomy and Geology, published his latest book, The Horned Dinosaurs: A Natural History, to relate his own research to the history of these four-legged plant-eaters -- the last dinosaurs to exist in North America. Dodson shared his recent experiences in writing the book and recounted old stories of research expeditions to an informal audience of students and faculty members yesterday at King's Court/English House. "I found [writing the book] a wonderfully self-indulging exercise," joked Dodson, who added that he wrote the book out of "pure unadulterated ego." The presentation -- which drew more than 40 students and professors to the the dorm's Class of 1938 Lounge -- is the second in the Forum for Penn Authors series hosted by the KC/EH Perspectives in Humanities Program. The series is a student-run program created last semester to introduce students to different means of presenting scholarly writing. Like KC/EH, which houses a diverse variety of programs -- from Perspectives in Humanities to the Science and Technology Wing -- the Forum seeks to embody this diversity of disciplines in its speakers, according to College freshman Michelle Tucker. "With Dr. Dodson, we have a science scholar who presented some very technical material in an accessible manner," said Tucker, the student coordinator for the Forum. The moment he rose to speak, Dodson remarked on the irony of being hosted by a humanities program. "I'm a scientist," he said. "I'm surprised to find myself in English House." Dodson explained that his undergraduate education in Canada -- while "superb in the sciences" -- was far from a liberal arts education. "Scientists in Canada at that time were not expected to take English with English students or history with history students," Dodson said. "A liberal education was self-enforced." Although his new book may be used as a science reference, Dodson did not write The Horned Dinosaurs for the science community alone. "The book is a bit on the high end," Dodson said. "But I also tried to make it accessible." In writing a book that would appeal to the public at large, Dodson said he was aware of the negative stigma associated with the popularization of science, which he said is perpetuated by many science scholars today. According to Dodson, some science institutions -- such as the American Museum of Natural History in New York -- frown upon dinosaur paleontologists who become too focused on the media to be considered "serious scientists." Dodson, however, acknowledged that scientific research depends upon taxpayers' dollars. And he claimed that although "too much popularity is not a good thing in science," the public "deserves an explanation of their expenditures." He also emphasized that science writers need to continue to appeal to the curiosity of their younger readers in order to "inspire the future generation of scientists."