Six million years ago, the African continent closed the Gibraltar gap, cutting off the connection between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. A geologic "crisis" unfolded that climaxed in one of the most incredible events ever recorded on Earth. This talk will explore the aftermath of this geologic crisis in conjunction with the eruptions of Italy's volcanos, which provided minerals that allowed the Vitruvian man to become one of the greatest architects the world has ever known, responsible for the everlasting constructions of the Roman Empire. 

Jack Horner is a severely dyslexic dinosaur paleontologist who spent 7 years at the University of Montana without receiving a degree. He has since been awarded 4 honorary doctorates. He was a research scientist at Princeton University for 7 years, a Regent’s Professor at Montana State University for 34 years, and has been a Presidential Fellow at Chapman for the past 8 years. Jack is a MacArthur Fellow, and a National Geographic Explorer, and has more than 320 publications including a dozen books. He was the technical advisor for the first 6 installments of the Jurassic Park/Jurassic World movie Franchise. Jack was also the Honorary President of the Italian Association of Paleontology and Paleoart (APPI) from 2009 until 2019. Jack does research in Montana, Mongolia, and Italy.