Dr. Ryan Haupt of the National Youth Science Academy will present the history of the first sloth discovery in West Virginia, what makes sloths such an interesting and confounding animals to try to study, some of what his research has revealed about sloth diets using techniques that look at the very atoms that make up their food and tissues, and some recent exciting sloth finds from right here in the Mountain State!

Ryan Haupt grew up in Charleston, WV and after graduating from George Washington High School went on to earn degrees from the University of California, Santa Cruz, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Wyoming, where he completed his Ph.D. studying sloth ecology and paleontology. Ryan now works for the WV-based education non-profit the National Youth Science Academy (formerly the National Youth Science Foundation) which works to provide free extracurricular STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) opportunities for WV students and teachers. In his free time he enjoys hiking with his family and dog, skiing, kayaking, and generally enjoying all the wild and wonderful opportunities WV has to offer.