Nationality British | Alma mater Cambridge University Fields Paleontology Name Emily Rayfield Doctoral advisor David B. Norman | |
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Doctoral students Stephanie Pierce, Sandra Jasinoski, Mark Young, Jen Bright Notable awards Hodson Fund of the Palaeontological Association, Lyell Fund of the Geological Society of London | ||
Education University of Cambridge Institutions University of Bristol Residence England, United Kingdom | ||
HOW DO MECHANICAL LOADS INFLUENCE CRANIAL SHAPE AND FUNCTION DURING DEVELOPMENT?
Emily Rayfield is a British palaeontologist, who is a Professor in Palaeobiology in the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Bristol.
Her research primarily focuses on the functional anatomy of extinct vertebrates, especially dinosaurs, using computational methods such as finite element analysis (FEA). In the landmark paper Rayfield et al. (2001), the skull of the theropod dinosaur Allosaurus was analysed using FEA in order to quantitatively assess different feeding hyoptheses. This paper was the first use of FEA on a three-dimensional structure in palaeontology (in collaboration with CT scanning), and spurred the current trend of CT-scanned skull FEA on feeding biomechanics in zoology and palaeontology.
In addition, she helped elucidate the cranial biomechanics of the noted carnivorous dinosaur Tyrannosaurus using two-dimensional FEA. This study was expanded upon in a comparative finite element analysis of 2D theropod skulls (namely Allosaurus Coelophysis and Tyrannosaurus), in order to quantitately compare cranial biomechanics.