Grimaldi, David 1957-

PERSONAL:

Born 1957. Education: Cornell University, Ph.D., 1986.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Department of Entomology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park W. at 79th St., New York, NY 10024-5192. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, curator of entomology. Adjunct professor, City University of New York, Columbia University, and Cornell University; adjunct senior research scientist, Earth Institute's Center for Environmental Research and Conservation.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Thomas Say Award, 2007, from the Entomological Foundation.

WRITINGS:

Amber: Window to the Past, Harry N. Abrams (New York, NY), 1996.

Studies on Fossils in Amber, with Particular Reference to the Cretaceous of New Jersey, Backhuys Publishers (Leiden, Netherlands), 2000.

(With Michael S. Engel) Evolution of the Insects, Cambridge University Press (New York, NY), 2005.

Contributor to academic journals, including the Journal of Paleontology, Rocky Mountain Geology, and Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History.

SIDELIGHTS:

David Grimaldi is an entomologist with the American Museum of Natural History in New York City whose primary interest is the evolution of insects from their primordial beginnings. He has written several books on the topic, including Amber: Window to the Past, which grew out of an exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History in 1996. The book is a heavily illustrated introduction to the ancient substance, both its scientific and artistic aspects. Grimaldi examines works of art from various cultures that incorporate amber, from murals to pipes, and explains the insects and detritus often trapped within amber and what these items tell modern scientists about the past. Patricia Monaghan, writing in Booklist, praised the "lavish book" for presenting "both the beauty and the strangeness of amber."

Evolution of the Insects, which Grimaldi wrote with Michael S. Engel, a paleoentomologist at the University of Kansas, examines the fossil record of insects in order to trace their evolution. The authors' aim is to further the study of biological diversity, which they feel has not sufficiently incorporated the body of data derived from the insect fossil record. The number and variety of insect fossils are critical to understanding the evolution of vertebrates and other forms of life, the authors claim, yet they have often been ignored. The book covers such topics as the evolution of insect wings, mass extinctions at various points in history, and the intricacies of insect society. Grimaldi and Engel investigate the key question of when the first bee evolved—an important moment due to the bee's role in pollination—and when the first mosquito evolved, which would shed new light on the development of malaria. George Poinar, Jr., writing in the American Scientist, took issue with the absence of certain controversies in the book, such as the active debate surrounding the age of well-known fossils upon which the authors base many of their claims, and the fact that other scientists insist the fossil record is too incomplete to give an accurate picture of insect history. Most reviewers, however, thought the authors accomplished what they set out to do. Combining research from forty countries on six continents, containing almost one thousand photographs (including many line drawings by Grimaldi), and detailing insect life spanning 400 million years, the book "is a rich work and an excellent contribution to the study and teaching of insect and arthropod science," wrote Kipling W. Will in BioScience. A reviewer for Natural History called it "a stunning accomplishment," that will appeal to professionals, students, and insect enthusiasts alike.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

American Scientist, July 1, 2006, George Poinar, Jr., review of Evolution of the Insects, p. 376.

BioScience, June, 2006, Kipling W. Will, review of Evolution of the Insects, p. 538.

Booklist, April 1, 1996, Patricia Monaghan, review of Amber: Window to the Past, p. 1334.

Choice, January, 2006, G.C. Stevens, review of Evolution of the Insects, p. 830.

Evolution, November, 2005, Peter S. Cranston, review of Evolution of the Insects, p. 2492.

Library Journal, March 15, 1996, Jeanne Davidson, review of Amber, p. 93.

Natural History, September, 2005, review of Evolution of the Insects, p. 60.

Nature, September 19, 1996, review of Amber, p. 227.

New Scientist, June 25, 2005, Douglas Palmer, review of Evolution of the Insects, p. 56.

Quarterly Review of Biology, June, 2003, David K. Yeates, review of Studies on Fossils in Amber, with Particular Reference to the Cretaceous of New Jersey, p. 217; September, 2006, Matthew L. Forister, review of Evolution of the Insects, p. 288.

Times Literary Supplement, June 2, 2006, Quentin D. Wheeler, review of Evolution of the Insects, p. 13.