K. Christopher Beard

Dr. Beard joined KU’s Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity Institute in 2014. He previously had served as Curator of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, and was Chair of Vertebrate Paleontology at the University of Pittsburgh. He is a vertebrate paleontologist interested in the origin and early evolution of primates and how changes in the Earth’s physical environment have impacted Cenozoic mammals. 

Dr. Beard investigates the fossil record of early mammal — specifically primate — evolution. Important goals of this research include understanding how, when, and where such familiar taxa as anthropoid primates (monkeys, apes and humans) evolved. He also focuses on reconstructing the evolution and biogeography of early mammals in relation to perturbations of the physical environment. He led teams that discovered Teilhardina magnoliana, an early North American primates, and Eosimias, an early primate found in China. 

Dr. Beard received a MacArthur Fellowship "Genius" Award from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. He is a fellow of the American Anthropological Association, and received a Phi Beta Kappa Book Award.

Learn more about Chris Beard on the Museum Studies website.