Scott D. Sampson

Scott D. Sampson (born April 22, 1961, Vancouver, British Columbia) is a Canadian paleontologist and science communicator. Dr. Scott Sampson is currently Vice President of Research & Collections and Chief Curator at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, effective February 28, 2013. Sampson is notable for his work on the carnivorous theropod dinosaurs Majungasaurus and Masiakasaurus and his extensive research into the Late Cretaceous Period, particularly in Madagascar.

Background

Sampson studied for a Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of Toronto. For his doctorate he produced a thesis on two newly found species of ceratopsids, dated to the Late Cretaceous period in Montana and the growth and function of ceratopsid horns and frills. Sampson graduated from the University of Toronto in 1993 and worked for a year at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Then he worked for five years as an assistant professor of anatomy at the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine on Long Island. In 1999 he accepted positions as assistant professor in the Department of Geology and Geophysics and curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Utah Museum of Natural History. Sampson resided in California at this time, but continued his research with the Utah museum as a research curator. In February 2013, Sampson took a position as Vice President of Research and Collections at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.