Neil Shubin

A paleontologist, Neil Shubin has found fossils, such as Tiktaalik, "a mosaic of primitive fish and derived amphibian," that throw new light on key transitions in evolution—from water to land, from reptile to mammal—and that clarify the origins of salamanders, dinosaurs, and their relatives. His expeditions have taken him to Greenland, the High Arctic of Canada, Argentina, China, Morocco, Nova Scotia, and the deserts of the United States. Shubin is the provost of Chicago's Field Museum as well as the associate dean and Robert R. Bensley Professor of Anatomy at the University of Chicago.