Tim Ewin

Dr. Tim Ewin is a passionate paleontologist and natural history curator with more than 15 years experience working in internationally renowned museums. After attaining a BSc in geology (Cardiff University), a MSc in palynology (The University of Sheffield) and a doctorate in paleobotany (The University of Manchester), he became the curator of geology at Bristol City Museum & Art Gallery. He is currently the senior curator of invertebrate paleontology at The Natural History Museum in London, responsible for the world-class fossil echinoderm collections (starfishes, sea urchins and other marine invertebrate organisms). Erin is recognized as an expert in British Mesozoic echinoderms, he has published more than 26 scientific papers and contributed to numerous field guides, including four Palaeontological Association (UK) guides, the popular British Mesozoic Fossils guidebook, plus the Fossil Explorer app; an electronic guide helping users identify common fossils in Britain, in conjunction with The Natural History Museum and the British Geological Survey.

Neville Hollingworth

Dr. Neville Hollingworth has always had an interest in the great outdoors. At age six, he was presented with a fossilized leaf, a replica drawn on sandstone as a prank. Undeterred, his first real find came five years later, an ammonite fossil discovered in Yeovil, southwest of England. He studied geology at Newcastle University followed by a PhD in paleontology at the University of Durham. Instead of academia, Neville pursued his interest in communicating about the sciences—everything from atoms to astrophysics—as a public engagement manager at the Science and Technology Facilities Council in Swindon.

Aside from fossil collecting, Neville is a keen scuba diver and underwater photographer. His perseverance to capture the extraordinary creatures inhabiting our blue planet likely stems from the same passion that lead him and his wife, Sally, to uncover one of the largest collections of marine fossils ever found in Britain. For Neville, “The sea is my church, both past and present, and it is great to live on a planet that buries its dead.”

Sally Hollingworth

An avid collector since childhood, Sally Hollingworth enjoyed foraging and acquiring “treasures,” often filling her sister’s pram with her findings. Later in life, Sally set her sights further. As her interest in stargazing grew, she joined the Cotswold Astronomical Society as a member and soon found herself volunteering at events and festivals. In 2015, Sally and Neville met at the local science festival under the skeleton of Gorgosaurus. Their mutual interest in science and collecting lead to a fossil hunting trip together in 2016, where they discovered a fossil vertebra—but only one half. Neville later returned to the site to look for the other half and suggested a pub meeting to see if the two halves fit–and they did. The Hollingworths married in 2017, and they continue to go on adventures together.

Good with numbers and remarkably organized, Sally works in the accounts administration team at Avtar Construction Ltd. in Swindon.