Akiko Shinya

Chief Preparator

Negaunee Integrative Research Center

Akiko Shinya is the Field’s Chief Fossil Preparator. She prepares vertebrate fossils using mechanical, manual, and chemical methods, and manages three of the museum’s vertebrate fossil preparation labs. Akiko specializes in micro-preparation but prepares numerous specimens, including both macro and microvertebrate, invertebrate, and paleobotanical specimens. She has also prepared fossils and conducted fieldwork in various domestic and international localities, including North and South America, Asia, Europe, and Antarctica. Akiko also shares her knowledge by training volunteers, students, and other technicians.
Alongside many curators, associated researchers, and students, she and her team prepare a wide variety of specimens including dinosaurs, fish, birds, amphibians, mammals, synapsids, and marine reptiles. Her lab is always full of untouched ancient creatures from all over the world.

Education and Work

2003 - current Chief Preparator, Fossil Vertebrates. The Field Museum
2001 - 2003 Fossil Preparator I. The Field Museum
2000 - 2001 Dr. Reisz Vertebrate Fossil Lab, University of Toronto, Canada
1999 - 2000 Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada
BSc in Geology, University of Toronto, Canada

Accomplishments

Discovery of “An Unusual New Theropod with a Didactyl Manus from the Upper Cretaceous of Patagonia, Argentina” Gualicho shinyae in 2007.
Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Member since 1999.
Currently serving for the Field Training Award Committee, chair; Preparators' Committee, member; Preparators' Award Committee, member.
Association of Materials & Methods in Paleontology Member since 2017.
Scientific advisor of ‘Fossil Canyon’, a family oriented dinosaur paleontology card game.

Publications

Tanaka, T., Wada, K., Shinya, A. and Ikeda, T., 2024. The challenge of hard-to-reach spaces in mechanical fossil preparation: Development of the Wada air scribe, a novel short-bodied air scribe with an adjustable handle. Palaeontologia Electronica, 27(1), pp.1-19.
Canale, J.I., Apesteguía, S., Gallina, P.A., Mitchell, J., Smith, N.D., Cullen, T.M., Shinya, A., Haluza, A., Gianechini, F.A. and M...

Research Sketch

During my time at the University of Toronto, I studied how ankle bones in certain animals changed over time. Now, as a fossil preparator, I focus on learning and teaching different methods in labs and in the field. I work closely with The Museum of Nature and Human Activities, Hyogo (HITOHAKU), helping to develop tools for fossil labs. I also share these methods in conferences and publish them in scientific journals. Recently, we published a paper on making an air scribe that we named ‘Wada Air Scribe’ using parts from a regular hardware store. Additionally, I'm part of a long-term project in Missouri called the Missouri Ozark Dinosaur Project, where we're uncovering unique dinosaur and other fossil remains.