-Magdalen Lindeberg

Congratulations to Maria Alejandra ‘Ale’ Gandolfo Nixon who has been made a 2023 Fellow of the Paleontological Society. Fellows are members of the Paleontological Society who have made far-reaching contributions to paleontology through research, teaching, or service to the profession.

Gandolfo was described by her nominators as “an outstanding paleobotanist who has helped to provide insights into important and previously undocumented Patagonian floras.” Another member highlighted Gandolfo’s extraordinary career: “Nominated for her contributions to Cretaceous and Paleogene paleobotanical research, contribution to institutional paleobotanical collections, teaching and mentoring; 97 peer-reviewed publications (when first nominated in February 2021); mentor of numerous graduate students, undergraduates, and postdoctoral associates; garnered Awards from the Botanical Society of America and American Philosophical Society; and active in professional service, including Editor-in-Chief of Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, and other editorial duties.”

Gandolfo’s research focuses on paleobotany with the goal of answering some key questions related to the origin of angiosperms, the evolution of seed plant characters through time, evolution of floras in the Southern Hemisphere, the influence of climate on these floras, and paleoenvironmental reconstructions. To address these questions she uses a combination of traditional paleobotanical approaches such as descriptions and comparisons of fossils with extant materials, modern and cutting-edge imaging technologies, and phylogenetic analyses combined with molecular DNA sequence data.