Ashley Kruger
Research Engineer
Contact
Phone: +46 (0)72 981 4657
E-mail: ashley.kruger@nrm.se
Billing and Mailing Address:
Education
BSc (Hons) Bernard Price Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, 2012
MSc Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, 2014
PhD Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, 2017
Research Interests
As a virtual palaeontologist, I am interested in using digital technologies to uncover the past. I have a broad background in palaeontology and palaeoanthropology and have worked on numerous different fossil families and projects.
In 2014 my digital work became an integral part in the National Geographic ‘Rising Star Expedition’ leading to the discovery of Homo naledi – a new fossil hominin found deep inside an underground cave in the Cradle of Humankind, just outside of Johannesburg. Now the largest fossil hominin site on the continent of Africa (currently the second largest in the word), Homo naledi and the Rising Star site has shed much light on the evolution of the human species.
Now I use my expertise in 3D data collection and analysis to peer inside fossil animals and plants to answer important questions about palaeobiology, taxonomy, and evolutionary processes.
Awards
- National Research Foundation Science Team Award (The Rising Star Expedition Team), 2014
- Palaeontological Society of Southern Africa (PSSA): The Lystrosaurus Shield – Best Student Paper, 2014
- Palaeontological Society of Southern Africa (PSSA): The Lystrosaurus Cast – Best Poster, 2012