Mariah M. Howell, M.Sc. 

Currently, I am Ph.D. student in biology at the University of Bonn, Germany. My focus is on paleobotany and paleoecology, in particular Mesozoic and Cenozoic conifers. 

Originally from Indiana, United States, I graduated from Ball State University with a bachelor's degree in biology and anthropology in 2015. In 2016, I moved to Germany to begin my Master's in the international Organismic, Evolutionary, and Paleobiology (OEP) biology program at the University of Bonn. My thesis involved practical experiments to explain herbivory in Jurassic sauropod dinosaurs. However, I also explored many other research interests, including the preparation of Miocene cuticles and the early stages of silicification.

Now, I am in the Department of Paleontology at the Bonn Institute for Organismic Biology, with a particular interest in the organization of fossil and extant conifer seed cones. 

During both degrees, I have gained extensive experience in teaching about scientific writing, scientific ethics, and the presentation of scientific research, and consult on these topics. 

I also frequently volunteer my time to encourage young students to follow their interest in science and paleontology, especially girls.