Owsley was inducted into University of Wyoming honoraries such as Iron Skull, Omicron Delta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, and Phi Beta Kappa. He was the recipient of UW Distinguished Alumni Award in 2006.
Hometown:
Lusk, Wyoming
College:
Arts and Sciences
Degree:
B.S. Zoology and Physiology
The son of a game warden, Owsley attended UW to pursue an undergraduate
degree in zoology. In a UW introductory anthropology course, he
discovered a passion and aptitude for the subject and changed his career
path. He went on to earn master's and doctorate degrees in anthropology
from the University of Tennessee (1978) and then taught at the college
level.
Owsley is now the curator and division head for physical anthropology of
the Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian Institution.
During his distinguished career, Owsley has been involved in nationally
recognized projects, including identifying the crew of the Civil War
Confederate submarine CSS Hunley and determining whether Kennewick Man, a
9,600 year-old skeleton discovered in Washington state, was a direct
ancestor of an existing Native American tribe.
He also has worked closely with law enforcement agencies to identify the
remains of crime victims and those who died at the Branch Davidian
complex in Waco, Texas; has removed the anonymity of Croatian war
victims; and has identified the remains of U.S. service personnel
serving in a variety of combat zones. Owsley received the 2002
Department of the Army Commander's Award for Civilian Service for
forensic investigations that helped identify victims of the 9/11
terrorist attack on the Pentagon.
In November 2005, Smithsonian magazine included him, along with
software pioneer Bill Gates, astronaut Sally Ride, and filmmaker Steven
Spielberg, among "35 Who Made a Difference." The magazine recognized
artists, scholars and scientists who have enriched American life. To
read the article, click here.
Photo courtesy of UW News Service
