BE ADVISED: On Saturday, April 20 and Sunday, April 21, nearby events at Exposition Park and the University of Southern California will impact traffic, parking, and wayfinding in the area. Please consider riding the Metro E (Expo) Line and exiting at USC/Expo station.

Vanessa R. Rhue

Ms. Rhue has over a decade of paleontological field, laboratory, and collections experience at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. Previous to her museum tenure she worked as a paleontological field technician, salvaging fossils of various ages from localities throughout southern and central California. Her work at the museum began with the preparation of a new holotype desmostylian fossil, Neoparadoxia cecilialina, now on display in the Age of Mammals exhibit. Ms. Rhue actively mentors students and volunteers and diligently seeks to further museum best practices through collaboration with international colleagues. She is currently Co-Chair of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Preparators Committee (SVP), and a member of the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC).

Research

Ms. Rhue’s day to day job involves the curation and care of all vertebrate classes, including management of new acquisitions, loans, specimen digitization, archive management, specimen conservation, as well as facilitating collections access to visiting researchers. Her research focus is the preventive and remedial conservation of paleobiology specimens and professional development pedagogy. She is currently involved in a book project with Cambridge University Press to provide the paleontological community with an up to date resource on fossil preparation and collections management. As a native Californian, she has a special interest in the local middle Miocene marine and terrestrial Pleistocene faunas.

Publications

  • Rhue, Vanessa R. 2018. “Maintaining Data Label Integrity: A Review of Materials and Techniques for Affixing Labels to Vertebrate Fossils, Housings, and Collection Storage Areas”.  Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, Program and Abstracts, 47.
  • Rhue, Vanessa R. 2018. “The Good, The Bad, The Ugly: Why Selecting Inert, Long-lasting Materials Matters”.  11th Annual Meeting of the Association for Materials & Methods in Paleontology, Program and Abstracts, 54.
  • Rhue, Vanessa R. 2017. “How to Structure an Effective Volunteer Task Force in the Lab and Collections: A Case Study on Establishing Criteria for Recruitment, Selection, and Training.” Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, Program and Abstracts, 184.
  • Rhue, Vanessa R. 2017. “Shipshape Loans: The Art of Selecting Materials for Housing Fossils Sent on Institutional Loan.” 10th Annual Meeting of the Association for Materials & Methods in Paleontology, Program and Abstracts, 45. 
  • Rhue, Vanessa R. 2015. “Designing a Holistic Internship for Undergraduate Students in Collections Care.” Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, Program and Abstracts, 202.
  • Rhue, Vanessa R. 2013. “Imparting our Knowledge: Educating the Next Generation of Fossil Preparators and Collections Personnel”. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, Program and Abstracts, 197.
  • Rhue, Vanessa R. 2013. “Cultivating Pedagogy: A Holistic Approach to Professional Development”. 6th Annual Fossil Preparation & Collections Symposium, Program and Abstracts, 73.
  • Rivin, Meredith A., J. Velez-Juarbe, and V.R. Rhue. 2012. “A New Halitheriine Dugongid from the Early Miocene of Orange County, California”.  Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, Program and Abstracts, 162.
  • Barnes, Lawrence G., S.A. McLeod, and V.R. Rhue. 2011. “Extreme Adaptations in Marine Mammal Herbivory Exemplified by a New Late Miocene Paleoparadoxiid Desmostylian”. 6th Triennial Conference on Secondary Adaptation of Tetrapods to Life in Water, Program and Abstracts, 7.
  • Rhue, Vanessa R. 2011. “The Making of the Age of Mammals: A Behind the Scenes Look at Exhibit Preparation and Display”.  Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, Program and Abstracts, 178.