Short Talks on Big Ideas: Jeremy DeSilva on the Evolution of Upright Walking

Professor DeSilva and his work on the fossil record are highly-regarded by his students and colleagues. In addition to his post as Associate Professor of Anthropology, Dr. DeSilva’s academic appointments include:

• Faculty in Ecology, Evolution, Environment and Society (EEES) graduate program
• Honorary Research Fellow, Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa 

Professor DeSilva is a paleoanthropologist, specializing in the locomotion both the first apes as well as our early human ancestors. His particular expertise is the evolution of the human foot and ankle. The professor has studied wild chimpanzees in Western Uganda as well as early human fossils throughout Eastern and South Africa. Before joining the Anthropology Department at Dartmouth, Jerry worked as an educator at the Boston Museum of Science where he developed his passion for science education. His book First Steps: How Upright Walking Made Us Human debuted in 2021.