Emily Rayfield
British palaeontologist
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Emily Rayfield is a British palaeontologist, who is a Professor in Palaeobiology in the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Bristol.[1]
- Hodson Award of the Palaeontological Association
- Lyell Fund of the Geological Society of London
- President, Society of Vertebrate Paleontology 2018-2020
Emily Rayfield | |
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| Fields | Palaeontology |
| Institutions | University of Bristol |
| Doctoral advisor | David B. Norman |
Her research focuses on the functional anatomy of extinct vertebrates, especially dinosaurs, using computational methods such as finite element analysis (FEA). In the landmark paper Rayfield et al. (2001),[2] the skull of the theropod dinosaur Allosaurus was analysed using FEA in order to quantitatively assess different feeding hypotheses. This paper was the first use of FEA on a three-dimensional structure in palaeontology (in collaboration with CT scanning), and spurred interest in using CT-scanned skull FEA on feeding biomechanics in zoology and palaeontology.[3]
In addition, she helped elucidate the cranial biomechanics of the noted carnivorous dinosaur Tyrannosaurus using two-dimensional FEA.[4] This study was expanded upon in a comparative finite element analysis of 2D theropod skulls (namely Allosaurus Coelophysis and Tyrannosaurus), in order to quantitatively compare cranial biomechanics.[5]
She was President of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology from 2018 to 2020.
Honours and awards
- 2009 Hodson Award from the Palaeontological Association[6]
- 2011 Lyell Fund of the Geological Society of London[7]
- 2018 President's Medal from the Palaeontological Association
- 2019 Bigsby Medal from the Geological Society of London[8]
- 2019 Scientific Medal from the Zoological Society of London[9]
- 2024 Gabor Medal from the Royal Society[10]
