🎓 Education:
Consuelo Sendino holds a PhD in Palaeontology from the University Complutense of Madrid, Spain, awarded in 2008 with the distinction of cum laude. She completed her Master’s Thesis in Geology at the same university in 2003, receiving distinction. Additionally, she earned a Master’s Degree in Environmental Management in 2000 from the Foundation Alfonso MartÃn Escudero in Madrid. She holds a Licenciatura in Geology from the University Complutense of Madrid, completed in 1989. In 2006, she obtained a Diploma in Computing Architecture and Problem-Solving from the Geological Survey of Spain, followed by an ORACLE Certification in 2004, granted by the Ministry of Education and Science and the Geological Survey of Spain.
💼 Experience:
Since 2022, Consuelo has been serving as Técnico Superior Especializado de OPIs at the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN), CSIC in Madrid, where she leads digitalization projects and the development of the Natural History Portal. From 2008 to 2022, she was the Senior Curator for Invertebrates at MNCN, specializing in bryozoans, sponges, worms, and Historical Collections. She also served as the Supercurator on KE Emu at the Natural History Museum in London. Prior to these roles, from 1992 to 2008, she worked as a Curator at MNCN and Project Coordinator for GBIF in Madrid.
Professional Affiliations:
Consuelo is an active member of several professional organizations. She serves on the Executive Committee of the Interdisciplinary Thematic Platform on Digital Science at CSIC and is a Global Delegate for the Association of Women Geoscientists (AWG), where she won the 2024 Encourage Award. She is also a committee member of the History of Geology Group (HOGG) within the Geological Society of London from 2021 to 2024, and a member of the International Bryozoology Association, Geological Curators Group, and the Conservation Paleobiology Network.
Research Focus:
Consuelo’s research interests include the integration of Artificial Intelligence in Paleontology. She is currently leading a project on AI and the automatic identification of stromatoporoids at IFCA-CSIC, launched in 2024. She is also coordinating a European project on the identification of Quaternary and Recent Mediterranean and North Atlantic bryozoans through the Bryozoa Identification Tool (BIT), which runs from 2022 to 2024. Additionally, she oversaw the digitization of the fossil Lithistida collection at the Natural History Museum in London from 2021 to 2022. In the past, she worked on the Lyell Project, which involved finding, databasing, and photographing historical specimens in Earth Sciences with online access to the data (2017–2018). She also developed QR code-based labels for Bryozoan collections to enhance interactivity in exhibitions (2013).
Awards and Honors :
In 2024, Consuelo received the Encourage Award from the Association of Women Geoscientists. She was also recognized in 2019 for her contributions to international research grants and funded projects related to paleontology and digital curation.