Dave Gillette, a paleontologist from Flagstaff, AZ was best known for his discovery of the dinosaur Diplodocus hallorum in 1985, and more recently for his work studying Pleistocene megafauna such as glyptodonts.
Dave grew up in Michigan as a farm kid, with a hands-on lifestyle that would follow him into his career. In high school, Dave was interested in the adaptation of plants and animals and ultimately wanted to pursue a biology degree as a follow-up to his youth interests, and he did so, at Michigan State University. He was exposed to evolution as an idea to explain those adaptations he observed, and he explored opportunities into the study of geology and geologic time.
Throughout his career, Dave studied the Columbian Mammoth (an extinct species that inhabited North and Central America millions of years ago), ground sloths, and saber-tooth cats. Dave always worked on making his research more accessible to the public such as displaying his discoveries in the exhibits at the Museum of Northern Arizona or working on documentary film with BBC on Ice Age Giants.
Dave was the Keynote Speaker for the Flagstaff Festival of Science in 2007 and a long time supporter of the Festival, including an extended service on the board of directors.