Lance Grande works in southern Wyoming where he collects fossil fishes, spectacularly preserved in thin slices of rock that once formed the bottom of a vast lake. He compares these fossils to their extinct and living relatives around the world to understand how fishes have evolved over time, and the ways in which they have remained the same. His research helps explain how the geography and climates of North America have changed over the last 50 million years.

Lance Grande was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and studied at the University of Minnesota and the City University of New York.