Science Communication with Dinosaurs

Dinosaurs successfully conjure images of lost worlds and forgotten lives. Our understanding of these iconic, extinct animals now comes from many disciplines, not just the science of palaeontology. In recent years palaeontology has benefited from the application of new and existing techniques from physics, biology, chemistry, engineering, but especially computational science. The application of computers in palaeontology is highlighted in this chapter as a key area of development in studying fossils. The advances in high performance computing (HPC) have greatly aided and abetted multiple disciplines and technologies that are now feeding paleontological research, especially when dealing with large and complex data sets. We also give examples of how such multidisciplinary research can be used to communicate not only specific discoveries in palaeontology, but also the methods and ideas, from interrelated disciplines to wider audiences. Dinosaurs represent a useful vehicle that can help enable wider public engagement, communicating complex science in digestible chunks.