Stephen Chester

Stephen Chester is an Associate Professor of Anthropology in the School of Natural and Behavioral Sciences at Brooklyn College, City University of New York. He also serves as faculty at the CUNY Graduate Center and the New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology (NYCEP), and holds curatorial positions at several major natural history museums including the Denver Museum of Nature & Science and the American Museum of Natural History.

Dr. Chester earned his B.A. and B.S. from the University of Florida in 2005, followed by an M.Phil. (2008) and Ph.D. (2013) in Anthropology from Yale University. His academic journey reflects a strong foundation in both anthropology and scientific methodology, with dual undergraduate degrees in Anthropology and Marketing providing a unique interdisciplinary perspective.

As a paleontologist, Chester specializes in the origin and early evolutionary history of primates, with research focusing on the skeletal anatomy of fossil primates that lived shortly after the extinction of the dinosaurs. He leads paleontological expeditions in western North America and deposits fossil specimens in four major natural history museum collections. His research examines how mammals responded to periods of global warming in the past, providing important insights into current climate challenges and evolutionary processes following mass extinction events.

Dr. Chester's scholarly work demonstrates significant trends in primate evolution, particularly regarding the early diversification of stem primates following the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction. His research integrates advanced imaging technologies like micro-CT scanning with traditional morphological analysis to reveal previously undocumented anatomical features in fossil specimens. This interdisciplinary approach has yielded important insights into primate origins, arboreal adaptations, and mammalian responses to global climate change.

• PSC-CUNY Research Awards (multiple)
• National Science Foundation Grants (multiple)
• Leakey Foundation General Research Grants
• National Geographic Society Grant
• Feliks Gross Award from CUNY Academy for Humanities and Sciences
• George Gaylord Simpson Prize from Yale Peabody Museum

Dr. Chester's research program includes significant mentoring of students and junior researchers, with numerous doctoral dissertation research grants. His fieldwork has led to important fossil discoveries in Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado, particularly at the Corral Bluffs site. He maintains active collaborations with researchers at institutions worldwide, contributing to major interdisciplinary projects examining biotic recovery following mass extinction events. His laboratory work combines traditional paleontological methods with cutting-edge 3D imaging and geometric morphometric analyses to extract maximum information from fossil specimens.