About the Algarve Dino dawn Flag Expedition

Lead Palentologist, Ricardo Araújo is a distinguished Portuguese paleontologist and member of The Explorers Club known for his groundbreaking work in the study of ancient vertebrates, particularly dinosaurs. www.paleomoz.org

The PaleoDiscovery Team, led by David Isserman,  is composed of 5 specialized members from The Explorers Club, each bringing their unique skills to the expedition. This group will join both the sieving and extraction sites, actively participating in the hands-on discovery of significant fossil finds. Their collective expertise in exploration, field research, and logistics will greatly enhance the efficiency of excavation activities.

David “Dave” Finnegan is set to bring his electrifying blend of cross-industry savvy and exploratory spirit to DinoDawnExpedition.com. As a seasoned People Connector, Brand Storyteller, and Anthropologist with a robust background in private equity and board leadership, Finnegan lives by the mantra “the greatest way to scale business is to scale relationships.” With an eye for untapped opportunities and a knack for turning strategic connections into breakthrough brand stories, he is poised to infuse the Expedition with the kind of visionary insight that transforms challenges into trailblazing adventures. His role as an Explorer isn't just about charting new territories, it’s about redefining how we connect our past discoveries with tomorrow’s innovations.

Will Roseman from Explorers.org is a trailblazer whose knack for turning uncharted territories into unforgettable adventures is a perfect match for DinoDawnExpedition.com. Known for his bold spirit and a keen eye for both the scientific and the spectacular, Roseman brings that rare blend of field-tested expertise and contagious enthusiasm to our expedition. His deep roots in the world of exploration mean he’s not just following a map—he’s rewriting it, infusing each step with innovative insights and a touch of irreverent humor that says, “If you can dream it, you can explore it.” As a vital part of the team, Roseman is set to help us bridge the gap between ancient mysteries and modern adventure, proving that the wildest quests often lead to the most groundbreaking discoveries.

Marc Bryan-Brown is a British Documentary Photographer based in New York. He is known for his pioneering work in Digital Expedition Photography. Documenting the DinoDawn expedition will be his primary goal however Marc’s experience also brings logistical and production skills to the group and he looks forward to getting his hands dirty. Marc is a director of the Explorer’s Club where he has been a member since 1995.

Hugo Campos is a paleontologist associated with the aspiring Algarvensis Geopark, specializing in the Triassic fauna of the Algarve region. In addition to his research activities, he serves as a science communicator for the Geopark, engaging with educational institutions and the broader community to promote awareness and comprehension of geology and paleontology.

  Victor Carvalho is a paleontologist and scientific illustrator specializing in paleoart. He is currently a researcher at the Sociedade de História Natural, focusing on Late Jurassic microfossils from Portugal. Over the past three years, his research has centered on Mesozoic mammals, particularly multituberculates, and the reconstruction of their paleoenvironment, which he investigates through palynological analysis. His work in paleoart earned him the John J. Lanzendorf–National Geographic PaleoArt Prize in 2021, awarded by the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. He is now a PhD candidate at Instituto Superior Técnico, where he plans to investigate the evolution of vertebrate endothermy.

Victor Carvalho é paleontólogo e ilustrador científico, com especialização em paleoarte. Atualmente, é pesquisador na Sociedade de História Natural, onde se dedica ao estudo de microfósseis do Jurássico Superior em Portugal. Nos últimos três anos, sua pesquisa tem se concentrado em mamíferos mesozoicos, especialmente os multituberculados, e na reconstrução de seus paleoambientes, a partir de análises palinológicas. Seu trabalho em paleoarte lhe rendeu o Prêmio John J. Lanzendorf–National Geographic em Paleoarte, concedido em 2021 pela Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. Atualmente, é candidato ao doutoramento no Instituto Superior Técnico, onde pretende investigar a evolução da endotermia em vertebrados.

Bruno Camilo is a paleontologist with 30 years; experience. He has been excavatingdinosaurs and other fossil vertebrates from the Upper Jurassic of Portugal, as well as managing paleontological heritage. His main research topic is the paleobiology of dinosaurs, particularly ornithopods, using bone histology. Another line of research is the interpretation of the association of microvertebrate and macrovertebrate faunas for

the reconstruction of past ecosystems and their biodiversity.

José Carlos Kullberg is a Full Professor at the Department of Earth Sciences at NOVA School of Science and Technology (FCT NOVA) and a researcher at GeoBioTec. With a Ph.D. in Structural Geology, his expertise encompasses tectonics, basin analysis, and the geological evolution of the West Iberian Margin, focusing on the Mesozoic and Cenozoic periods. His research includes studies on extensional tectonics, salt tectonics in the Lusitanian Basin, magmatic intrusions, and tectonic inversion associated with the Africa–Eurasia collision. He collaborates with multidisciplinary teams to explore the paleogeographic development of Iberian margin basins and has contributed to advancements in 3D geological mapping.

Paulo Fernandes (PF) graduated in Geology from the University of Porto in 1994 and received the Soares dos Guimarães Prize in 1995. He started his career as a junior field geologist at the Geological Services of Portugal 1994. In 2000, he earned a PhD in Geological Sciences from Trinity College Dublin, specialising in Stratigraphy and Organic Petrology, with a thesis on the Carboniferous Black Shales in the Dublin Basin, Ireland. Since 2002, he has been an assistant professor at the University of the Algarve (UALG) and a researcher at the Center for Marine and Environmental Research (CIMA-UALG). His research encompasses stratigraphy, sedimentology, geochemistry, palynology, organic petrology, geochronology, and thermochronology in Portugal, Spain, Ireland, Angola and Mozambique. He has authored or co-authored 55 peer-reviewed articles, one geological map of Portugal, three book chapters, and a Memory for the National Laboratory of Energy and Geology (LNEG). He has coordinated three completed research projects funded by the FCT-Portugal and supervised five doctoral and three master's theses. In the past 5 years, PF worked on the project PaleoClimoz and supervised a PhD student who worked on the palynology and stratigraphy of the Algarve Basin, including the description of the Triassic-Jurassic Boundary.

Raphael Feldt is in charge of the the excavated blocks that will need to be prepared in a fossil preparation laboratory, which only - by then - the true nature of the fossils be revealed and the animals can be identified. To make scientific work to advance timely, it is absolutely crucial to have a fossil preparator allocated to the project.

My name is Sofia Patrocínio, and I hold a Master’s degree in Paleontology from Universidade Nova de Lisboa, in collaboration with Universidade de Évora, where I completed my dissertation on the origin and evolution of the order Docodonta. I am currently applying for a PhD at Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), focusing on the origins of mammalian endothermy. This research is part of the DinoDawn project and includes a fossil expedition to the Carnian-Norian deposits of the Algarve, aimed at uncovering early mammal remains from the Late Triassic.

Lígia Castro is a Professor at NOVA FCT and a researcher at GeoBioTec. A geologist by training, she specialises in Palynology and Stratigraphy. Over the past 30 years, she has taught a wide range of subjects across several degree programmes, including the Master’s in Palaeontology. She has supervised numerous Master’s dissertations on topics related to Palaeontology.

Her research focuses on the study of palynomorphs, particularly dinoflagellate cysts, spores, and pollen. Her work encompasses taxonomy and systematics, biostratigraphy, palaeoecology, palaeogeography, and stratigraphic correlation.

I am a German Paleontology Master student from Bonn. I have a bachelor degree in Geography and Geology with my bachelor thesis describing a new mammalian lower jaw from the late Cretaceous Lance Formation of Wyoming, USA. During the bachelor degree I spent one semester abroad at the University in Auckland, New Zealand, focusing on geology and paleoreconstruction of marine deposits using invertebrates.

I have experience in preparation after working half a year as a student assistant in the preparation lab of the Senckenberg Museum in Frankfurt and four weeks of internship with the Sociedade de História Natural in Torres Vedras. 

I am now doing my masters degree at the University of Bonn focusing on the histology of tooth attachment bone in Temnospondyli and Ichthyosaurs. For that I am mostly interested in discovering possible further material of Temnospondyli and hopefully Metoposaurus algarviensis.

Pedro Quinteiro has a PhD in Human Resources Management and Development from ISCTE, and is an Associate Professor at the School of Economic and Organizational Sciences at Lusófona University, where he coordinates the Applied Master's in Advanced Human Resources Management. Author of more than four dozen scientific works, he develops research in the areas of leadership and teamwork in extreme environments, with the support of the Portuguese Polar Program and the European Space Agency. In this context, he led two expeditions to King George Island (Antarctica), was the health and safety officer of the first space analogue mission in Portugal (CAMões; The Explorers Club Flagship expedition) and is co-founder of the Portuguese chapter of The Explorers Club.

We are still diggin' up our bios.