SMU student building career with paleontology and origami

DALLAS — To construct a profitable career in paleontology, you want a ardour for fossils, geology and physiology. And, should you’re SMU student Travis Nolan, you convey the key weapon of origami to the desk, too.

“Being surrounded by bones and fossils and natural history is always just kind of fun for me,” the SMU junior mentioned whereas working on the Shuler Museum of Paleontology within the basement of Heroy Hall. The storage and analysis space is stuffed with bones and fossils from digs and expeditions all over the world.

But on this specific morning, we additionally discovered Travis intricately creasing and folding items of paper.

“It’s a 22.5 degree design,” he mentioned of the origami challenge. “It’s a very iterative process for sure,” he mentioned of the trial and error that comes with his passion.

As early because the age of 5, he says, he knew who he wished to be.

“I came downstairs in the kitchen and said ‘Mom, Dad I got it figured out!”

He liked dinosaurs. He wished to be a paleontologist. But what to do with his different ardour: all that folding and folding of paper. He liked origami, which he admits folks usually suppose is simply the countless creation of paper crane after paper crane.

“Exactly. They’re like wow, that’s pretty lame you know,” he mentioned with amusing.

Lame?  His work positively isn’t.

“I’ve got a nice little dromaeosaur design,” he mentioned whereas placing the ending touches on his newest origami piece.

From one piece of paper he could make dromaeosaurs, velociraptors, triceratops and extra. It’s known as paleo artistry.

“Professionally creating art to convey paleontological information to the public,” he mentioned. 

But earlier than you dismiss his passion, as his personal grandfather as soon as did, Travis says take into account the worldly purposes of his passion.

“You’re spending so much time folding paper, why?” he remembers his grandfather asking him.

Well, it may be rocket science in any case. 

“There’s research into material science applications for origami,” he mentioned.

The just lately launched James Webb telescope for instance. Someone had to determine tips on how to fold it up for launch and then unfold it once more.

“To be easily deployable in space. That’s origami.”

And working with the Dallas non-profit Paper for Water, he has offered sufficient of his origami ornaments to assist construct water wells in locations like Kenya.

“It hit me when I saw the pictures of the finished well. It was an absolutely mind-blowing experience, yeah,” he mentioned.

So, should you see a younger man, studiously folding a single piece of paper, it won’t be only a passing passion. It could possibly be a university junior majoring in earth sciences specializing in geology with minors in biology and utilized physiology…whereas building a budding paleontology career one intricate fold at a time.

“Like, I’m looking at paleontological bio-mechanics, right? Studying how these animals moved and walked and diving into their anatomy.”

“If I’m stuck on a bus for, like, four hours, I can bring a sheet of paper and be occupied the entire time,” he mentioned.