Katherine Van Winkle Palmer

Katherine Van Winkle Palmer (February 5, 1895 – September 12, 1982) was an American paleontologist, studying fossils from the Cenozoic Era, and an accomplished geologist. a class of molluska that include clams, scallops and oysters. Palmer was a director of the Paleontological Research Institution (PRI) in New York. During Palmer's time as the director of the PRI, she oversaw the publication of numerous Bulletins of American Paleontology as well as several issues of Palaeontographica Americana. sharing a close relationship with her father who introduced her to the outdoors, and who was an important contributing factor in her pursuit of the sciences. She worked as Weaver's research assistant and investigated the largely unknown paleontology of the state of Washington.

Palmer completed her fieldwork during 1916–1917 for her senior thesis on Age Determinants within Faunal Provinces. For a short period, Katherine was working as a post-graduate lab assistant under Dr. Charles E. Weaver, who focused his study on Tertiary fauna. She continued her education at Cornell University, where she received her PhD in 1925.

After graduation As graduation arrived, Katherine received a Hecksher Fellowship from 1925 to 1927 to proceed with her work with Professor Harris on Paleogene fossils. The same year that Palmer died (1982), she published the first history of the PRI,

Personal life While still a graduate student at Cornell University, Katherine Van Winkle met Ephraim L. Palmer, who was a professor of rural education and nature study.

Palmer died on September 12, 1982.

Awards and honors Following are some of Palmer's awards and honors. National Honorary Member of Sigma Delta Epsilon/Graduate Women in Science (SDE/GWIS) (1971) Fellow of the Geological Society of America (1935) Honorary Member of the Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists (1966) First female recipient of the Paleontological Society Medal in 1972 for her work on Tertiary Mollusca: widely acknowledged as paleontology's highest professional honor in the United States (1972) Award for "outstanding contributions to the study of Mollusca" from the Western Society of Malacologists (1974) The Alpha Chapter of SDE/GWIS named their first Award for Excellence after Palmer (1978) The Katherine Palmer Award for amateur contributions to paleontology is presented each year by the Paleontological Research Institution (1993) "Paleontology is Alive and Well: A Symposium in Honor of Dr. Katherine Van Winkle Palmer" was held at Tulane University in 1978, which included an Honorary Doctor of Science presentation from the university (1978) Honorary Life Member of the American Malacological Union