Douglas A. Lawson

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Douglas A. Lawson (born 1947) is a geologist, paleontologist, and computer scientist.

Contents

In 1971 Lawson discovered wing bone fossils from a giant pterosaur [1] embedded in a sandstone outcropping at Big Bend National Park, Texas. [2] At the time the fossils were found, Lawson was working with Professor Wann Langston, Jr. of the University of Texas at Austin. Lawson was at Big Bend searching for the bones of titanosaur sauropods, such as Alamosaurus, when the pterosaur bones, which he later named Quetzalcoatlus , were discovered.

When the discovery of the fossils was reported in 1975, Quetzalcoatlus was the largest flying creature known to have lived. [3] A fellow researcher challenged Lawson's estimates of the dimensions of the wing architecture of Quetzalcoatlus. However, Lawson responded by demonstrating that while inconsistent with those of modern-day birds, his estimates were consistent with extrapolations of other pterosaurs, such as Pterodactylus antiquus. [4] In 2010 the U.S. National Park Service described Quetzalcoatlus as the world's second-largest known flying creature. [5]

Lawson's discovery of the remains of Quetzalcoatlus northropi caused scientists to rethink both the evolution of flight and the habitats of giant fliers.[ citation needed ] Lawson appears in Sir David Attenborough's motion picture documentary, Flying Monsters 3D (2010), discussing the impressive wingspan of Quetzalcoatlus and how estimates of that wingspan have changed over time.

Lawson's interest in evolving systems and swarming led him to develop as a computer scientist. While working at Southwest Airlines, Lawson used evolutionary computation methods to evaluate alternate means of having passengers board aircraft. Based upon the behavior of ants, Lawson determined whether assigned seating would be faster than Southwest's "festival seating" by creating an ant-based routing computer simulation of passengers boarding a plane, and then trying each pattern. [6] [7]

Additionally, Lawson has used ant-based routing in assigning aircraft arrivals to airport gates. At Southwest Airlines a software program uses swarm theory, or swarm intelligence — the idea that a colony of ants works better than one alone. "People don't like being only 500 yards away from a gate and having to sit out there until another aircraft leaves." [8] "Each pilot or plane acts like an ant searching for the best airport gate. "The pilot learns from his experience what's the best for him, and it turns out that that's the best solution for the airline," Lawson explained. As a result, the "colony" of pilots always go to gates from which they can arrive and depart quickly. The program can even alert a pilot of plane back-ups before they happen. "We can anticipate that it's going to happen, so we'll have a gate available," Lawson says. [9]

Lawson was one of 100 alumni featured in Celebrating 100 Years: 1910-2010, marking the 100th anniversary of the Graduate School at the University of Texas at Austin. He was among individuals selected to represent the Jackson School of Geosciences. [10]

Education

Career

Lawson began his synecological research during his master's degree studying the paleoecology of the Tornillo Formation in Big Bend National Park, Texas. During his study of this Late Cretaceous intermontane basin community, he discovered the fossil remains of the giant pterosaur, Quetzalcoatlus Northropi, which he named in honor of John K. Northrop because of its similarity to Northrop's flying wing aircraft design.

While at the University of California, Lawson continued his synecological studies emphasizing the stability analysis of evolving trophic networks. Lawson incorporated biogeographic information in the standard community matrix by producing a symmetrical matrix from the correlation coefficient matrix of the spatial distribution of individual species members. This augmented community matrix provided a probabilistic trophic network.

Lawson also demonstrated that since the coefficients of the characteristic equation represented the principal minor of the network matrix and loop analysis was essentially the calculation of all possible principal minors, the extraction of the eigenvectors provided the same stability analysis with little computational effort. [11] These were significant insights since the standard community matrix did capture the detailed community structure needed for studying evolving systems, [12] and since ecosystems that extend over millions of years can involve many tens of species complete loop analysis (based upon Richard Levins' loop analysis method) that at the time required the use of supercomputers.

Lawson taught paleontology at Louisiana State University.

Working for Philips, Arco, and as a consultant, Lawson mapped out the ancient environments of marine invertebrates. "To me it was mapping out the movement of habitats," says Lawson. "To the oil industry it was reservoir characterization," a process that helps geologists locate oil and gas. [13] While continuing his study of habitat evolution as an oil industry consultant, he invented a patentable method for 3-dimensional mapping habitat facies.

At Southwest Airlines, Lawson has described his work in terms of customer service. "I'm a living systems engineer. I try to improve the service experience for our customers by using living systems principles. The components that make up our customer service experience, like the actual number of service desks at the airport, or the number of agents ready to take care of our people or the actual functions they perform and when - all must be as reactive to the world around them as the customer. And people never act the same way in the same setting. Their behavior is influenced by their surroundings. We've tried through computer simulation to convert customer insights about our service into living things, so to speak, things that have memories that we can quantify into costs. Those things, those insights, must survive on their own, too." [14]

Publications

Related Research Articles

<i>Quetzalcoatlus</i> Genus of azhdarchid pterosaurs from the Late Cretaceous

Quetzalcoatlus is a genus of azhdarchid pterosaur known from the Late Cretaceous Maastrichtian age of North America. The type species is Q. northropi, named by Douglas Lawson in 1975 after the tailless fixed-wing aircraft designer Jack Northrop. The genus also includes the smaller species Q. lawsoni, which was known for many years as an unnamed species, before being named by Brian Andres and Wann Langston Jr. (posthumously) in 2021. Q. northropi has gained fame as a candidate for the largest flying animal ever discovered.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Northrop</span> Aircraft industrialist and designer, founder of Northrop Corporation

John Knudsen Northrop was an American aircraft industrialist and designer who founded the Northrop Corporation in 1939.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Azhdarchidae</span> Family of large azhdarchoid pterosaurs

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<i>Azhdarcho</i> Genus of azhdarchid pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous

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<i>Hatzegopteryx</i> Genus of large azhdarchid pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pterodactyloidea</span> Suborder of monofenestratan pterosaurs

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<i>Phosphatodraco</i> Late Cretaceous genus of pterosaur

Phosphatodraco is a genus of azhdarchid pterosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous of what is now Morocco. In 2000, a pterosaur specimen consisting of five cervical (neck) vertebrae was discovered in the Ouled Abdoun Phosphatic Basin. The specimen was made the holotype of the new genus and species Phosphatodraco mauritanicus in 2003; the genus name means "dragon from the phosphates", and the specific name refers to the region of Mauretania. Phosphatodraco was the first Late Cretaceous pterosaur known from North Africa, and the second pterosaur genus described from Morocco. It is one of the only known azhdarchids preserving a relatively complete neck, and was one of the last known pterosaurs. Additional cervical vertebrae have since been assigned to the genus, and it has been suggested that fossils of the pterosaur Tethydraco represent wing elements of Phosphatodraco.

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Wann Langston Jr. was an American paleontologist and professor at the University of Texas at Austin.

Paleontology or palaeontology is the study of prehistoric life forms on Earth through the examination of plant and animal fossils. This includes the study of body fossils, tracks (ichnites), burrows, cast-off parts, fossilised feces (coprolites), palynomorphs and chemical residues. Because humans have encountered fossils for millennia, paleontology has a long history both before and after becoming formalized as a science. This article records significant discoveries and events related to paleontology that occurred or were published in the year 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Javelina Formation</span> Geological formation in Texas, USA

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The Black Peaks Formation is a geological formation in Texas whose strata date back to the Late Cretaceous. Dinosaur remains and the pterosaur Quetzalcoatlus northropi have been among the fossils reported from the formation. The boundary with the underlying Javelina Formation has been estimated at 66.5 million years old. The formation preserves the rays Rhombodus and Dasyatis, as well as many gar scales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anhangueridae</span> Family of anhanguerian pterosaurs

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<i>Barbaridactylus</i> Genus of nyctosaurid pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous

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<i>Wellnhopterus</i> Genus of azhdarchid pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous

Wellnhopterus is an azhdarchid pterosaur recovered from the Late Cretaceous Javelina Formation in Texas that was previously identified as a thalassodromine. It consists of a set of upper and lower jaws, as well as some cervical vertebrae and a fragmentary long bone. In July 2021, the jaws were given the genus name "Javelinadactylus", with the type and only species as "J. sagebieli"; however, this article has now been retracted. In a paper published in December 2021, the complete holotype was independently named Wellnhopterus, with the only species being W. brevirostris. As of 2022, this is the formal name of this pterosaur.

<i>Haliskia</i> Genus of anhanguerian pterosaurs

Haliskia is an extinct genus of anhanguerian pteranodontoid pterosaurs from the Early Cretaceous Toolebuc Formation of Australia. The genus contains a single species, H. peterseni, known from a partial skeleton with skull. Haliskia represents the most complete pterosaur known from Australia.

References

  1. ↑ Stephen Harrigan (October 31, 2013). "The Miracle of Flight". The Alcalde . Retrieved June 1, 2015.
  2. ↑ Time. 1975. Science--Lawson's Monster. (March 24).
  3. ↑ Lawson, Douglas A. 1975. "Pterosaur from the Latest Cretaceous of West Texas: Discovery of the Largest Flying Creature." Science, 187: 947-948.
  4. ↑ Greenwalt, Crawford H. 1975. "Could Pterosaurs Fly?". Science 188:676. and Lawson, Douglas A. 1975. "Could Pterosaurs Fly?" Science 188: 676-677.
  5. ↑ U.S. National Park Service. 2010. Quetzalcoatlus Northropi. Retrieved November 30, 2010.
  6. ↑ Miller, Peter. 2010. The Smart Swarm: How understanding flocks, schools, and colonies can make us better at communicating, decision making, and getting things done. Avery: New York. xiii-xx.
  7. ↑ "Small wonders: What ants can teach us - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2024-10-25.
  8. ↑ Miller, Peter. 2007. "Swarm Theory." National Geographic 212:1, 129-147.
  9. ↑ Science Daily. 2008 (April 1). "Planes, Trains and Ant Hills: Computer scientists simulate activity of ants to reduce airline delays." World Wide Web: https://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/2008/0406-planes_trains_and_ant_hills.htm Archived 2010-11-24 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved December 1, 2010.
  10. ↑ Mabley, K. (ed.) 2010. Changing the World: Stories celebrating 100 years of graduate education. Austin, Texas: The University of Texas Press.
  11. ↑ Lawson, D.A., 1977, Change in marine-mollusk communities during the Middle Eocene in the Pacific Coast. Dissertation (University of California, Berkeley.)
  12. ↑ Pilette, R., Sigal, R., and J. Blamire. 1987. "The Potential for Community Level Evaluations Based on Loop Analysis." BioSystems 21(1): 25-32.
  13. ↑ Mabley, K. 2010. Changing the World: Stories celebrating 100 years of graduate education at The University of Texas at Austin. Austin, Texas: The University of Texas Press.
  14. ↑ Mark, Robert (2008-12-18). "Smart Swarming at Southwest Airlines". Jetwhine. Retrieved 2024-10-25.
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