10/27/2026
What’s clearer: One, Two, or Three?
How Petey “six-eyes” Ryhnard preps for a fossil dig in the blazing midday desert heat:
Step 1: Dons prescription glasses (to spot the micro-fossils)
Step 2: Slides on sunnies (to block the sun)
Step 3: Snaps on lab goggles (in case of dust devils!)
Graduate student Peter Rhynard came to Virginia Tech to study vertebrae paleontology with Prof. Michelle Stocker in the Virginia Tech Department of Geosciences.
“I study things that are older than the dinosaurs,” said Rhynard. “My favorite ones are the Metoposaurus, which are giant amphibians. Their head is the shape and size of a toilet lid.”
Geosciences at Virginia Tech