Plants are so cool, regardless of whether they are fossilized or alive. My interest in paleobotany (the study of fossil plants) and palynology (the study of fossilized spores and pollen) goes way back into the Cretaceous Period (135 to 64 million years ago). Many of my research projects have been related to dinosaur sites in Alberta, Antarctica, Argentina and Asia. The two research disciplines compliment each other, and together allow us to interpret ancient environments.