MSc, BA
Oliver is a scientific illustrator and palaeobiologist. During his undergraduate studies in Scientific Visualization at the Zurich University of the Arts, his passion for palaeontology led him to pursue internships in the lab of Dr. David Evans at the Royal Ontario Musuem in Toronto, Canada and the lab of Dr. Octávio Mateus in Lourinhã, Portugal. From these experiences, Oliver developed a special interest in biomechanics and 3D computational modelling.
After obtaining his BA in Design from Zurich in 2017, he joined the Nyakatura Lab at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin as a research fellow, working on limb biomechanics of extant caimans during locomotion. He completed a MSc in Palaeobiology in 2019 at the University of Bristol, where he was involved in a research project on the limb biomechanics of the stem-archosaur Euparkeria under the supervision of Prof Emily Rayfield and Prof John Hutchinson.
As a scientific illustrator Oliver has published illustrations in research articles and the international press and participated with his paintings and illustrations in several exhibitions in Europe and North America.
His research interests lie on novel three-dimensional computational modelling techniques to reconstruct deformed and partially preserved specimens, as well as musculoskeletal modelling of extinct and extant archosaurs, and the study of their biomechanics and locomotion.
In addition to his art and research Oliver enjoys palaeontological fieldwork. He joined the Royal Ontario Museum and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History in the last few years for their combined field excavations, the Southern Alberta Dinosaur Project, helping uncovering 77 million year old dinosaur remains in the Oldman Formation.
dawndinos.com 