Background
Clemens, William Alvin was born on May 15, 1932 in Berkeley, California, United States. Son of Vincent Alvin and Estella (Osborn) Clemens.
paleontologist university professor
Clemens, William Alvin was born on May 15, 1932 in Berkeley, California, United States. Son of Vincent Alvin and Estella (Osborn) Clemens.
After graduating from Berkeley High School, he attended the University of California, Berkeley, earning a Bachelor of Arts in paleontology in 1954 and a Doctor of Philosophy in 1960.
Clemens was born in Berkeley, California. From 1961 to 1967, he served as faculty in the Zoology Department at the University of Kansas and as the curator of higher vertebrates in their Museum of Natural History. Clemens" research has focussed on the evolution of mammals in the Mesozoic Era, both their origin and diversification as well as the microstructure of the early mammalian jaw and teeth.
He is also noted for his research into the extinction of the dinosaurs at the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary (K–T boundary).
Clemens" research supports a view contrary to the more familiar Alvarez hypothesis model of sudden catastrophic extinction precipitated by an asteroid, which was proposed in part by Walter Alvarez, also at the University of California, Berkeley, at the time. Clemens research in western North America suggests that the dinosaurs were already undergoing gradual extinction prior to the end of the Cretaceous and that other groups of vertebrates were not severely impacted by the event.
Served with United States Army, 1954-1956. Fellow Zoological Society London, Linnean Society London, Geological Society of America, California Academy of Sciences.
Married Dorothy Elise Thelen, January 22, 1955. Children: Catherine, Elisabeth, Diane, William.