Director of Undergraduate Studies, Department of Entomology
Associate Director, Master of Life Sciences Program
E-mail: bkent@umd.edu
Phone: 301-405-3125
Mail: University of Maryland, Entomology Department ,Plant Sciences Building, College Park, MD 20742
 
 
Research Interests
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Recent publications reflect my research interests. Two papers published in the paleontological journal, Mosasaur, concern the reconstructed paleobiology of a large, extinct lamnoid shark (Parotodus benedeni) based on an assemblage of 114 associated teeth from North Carolina. This assemblage is more than twice as large as any of the other three known for this species and the first from the Atlantic. Also published are two chapters in a monograph on a unique fossil assemblage from the Early Eocene of Virginia. The horizon is unusual in that it contains a rich, uncontaminated association of species, with a total of 32 shark and 18 ray species. I have recently discovered a second, slightly older and more offshore horizon from this site. Like the first horizon, this bed is uncontaminated, lying unconformably between two thick unfossiliferous layers of sediment. My current research is on reconstructing the feeding behavior of extinct sharks using a biomechanical model of tooth function.

As the departmental Director of Undergraduate Studies, I am responsible for producing the departmental portions of the Schedule of Classes each semester and the Undergraduate Catalog each year and coordinating the use of departmental resources for teaching and advising.

As Associate Director of the MLFSC Program Iam responsible for correlating mentor student relationships for the Scholarly Paper capstone experience as well as a number of other admistrative tasks.
 
 
Education
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Oregon State University, B.S., magna cum laude, 1973
Oregon State University, M.S., 1976
University of Maryland, Ph.D., 1981
 
 
Representative Publications
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Kent, B. W. 1983. Diet expansion of Busycon contrarium in the absence of Triplofusus giganteus. Nautilus 97: 103-104.
 
Kent, B. W. 1983. Natural history observations on the whelks Busycon contrarium (Conrad) and Busycotypus spiratum (Lamarck). J. Moll. Stud. 49:37-42.
 
Kent, B. W. 1987. Fossil Sharks of Maryland: An Illustrated Guide. Glossopetrae Press, Takoma Park, MD, 52 pp.
 
Kent, B. W. 1992. Making Dead Oysters Talk: Techniques for Analyzing Oysters from Archaeological Sites (2nd edition). Maryland Historical and Cultural Publ., Crownsville, MD, 76 pp.
 
Kent, B. W. 1994. Fossil Sharks of the Chesapeake Bay Region. Egan Rees and Boyer, Inc., Columbia, MD, 146 pp.
 
Kent, B. W. 1996. Biology of Extinct Animals Laboratory Manual. Campus Reprographics, College Park, MD, 162 pp.
 
Kent, B. W. and G. W. Powell, Jr. 1998. Reconstructed dentition of the rare lamnoid shark Parotodus benedeni (le Hon) from the Yorktown Formation (Early Pliocene) at Lee Creek Mine, North Carolina. Mosasaur 6: 1-10.
 
Kent, B. W. 1998. Speculations on the size and morphology of the extinct lamnoid shark,Parotodus benedeni (le Hon). Mosasaur 6: 11- 15.
 
Kent, B. W. 1999. Part 2 - Sharks from the Fisher/Sullivan Site. In: R. E. Weems (ed.). Fossil Vertebrates and Plants from the Fisher/Sullivan Site (Stafford County): A Record of Early Eocene Life in Virginia. Virginia Division of Mineral Resources, Publ. 152, pp. 11-37.
 
Kent, B. W. 1999. Part 3 - Rays from the Fisher/Sullivan Site. In: R. E. Weems (ed.). Fossil Vertebrates and Plants from the Fisher/Sullivan Site (Stafford County): A Record of Early Eocene Life in Virginia. Virginia Division of Mineral Resources, Publ. 152, pp. 39-51.
 
 
Awards and Recognition
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UMCP College of Life Sciences Faculty Excellence Award for Teaching/Advising, 1993
UMCP Presidential Award for Outstanding Service to the Schools, 1994
UMCP Outstanding Faculty Author, October, 1994
Maryland Governor's Citation, 1995
American Fossil Federation Certificate of Appreciation, 1995
 
Teaching
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BSCI 105, Principles of Biology I
BSCI 106, Principles of Biology II
HONR 298W, Biology and Cultural History of Trout
BSCI 392, Biology of Extinct Animals
BSCI 393, Biology of Extinct Animals Laboratory
BIOL 488, Environmental Biology Institute
BIOL 489, Summer Biology Institute
LFSC 510, Concepts in Modern Biology
LFSC 710, Experimental Biology
LFSC 725, Statistics and Experimental Design