“Revolutionising Palaeontology with Neutron Imaging”

Dr Joseph Bevitt
Instrument Group Manager and Senior Instrument Scientist
Australian Centre for Neutron Scattering
ANSTO

Date: Thursday, 19 November 2026, 6.30–7.30 pm AEDT
Venue: RSL Mittagong, Carrington Room
Entry: Members, $5; Non-members, $10 (please note: cashless payments only)
All are welcome

Summary: Palaeontology and evolutionary studies are dependent on the physical measurement of bone dimensions to determine relationships between organisms, age at death, interpret lifestyles, predator-prey interactions and physical adaptations to a constantly changing world. These measurements demand the physical extraction of specimens from their surrounding rock, risking damage to small and fragile bones and loss of contextual information associated with the environment at that time. For this reason, 3D imaging using X-rays has become a critical tool for the investigation and preservation of fossilised remains, which can now be investigated while remaining in their original matrix.

For many fossil localities, the applicability of X-rays is limited due to the prevalence of minerals that are opaque to X-rays, and therefore obscure the fossil remains. This is where neutron imaging comes in.

The application of neutron imaging to palaeontology has been pioneered at ANSTO. It remains a relatively new tool for palaeontology, yet it has revolutionised the field for two reasons: a high sensitivity to hydrogen, and greater ability to penetrate through iron-rich minerals such as pyrite.

This presentation draws on high-profile palaeontological studies conducted using the DINGO neutron imaging instrument at ANSTO to demonstrate not just the complementarity of neutrons with X-rays, but the unprecedented discoveries being made. The method has become a game-changer for Australian palaeontology, attracting specimens for study from around the globe. This talk highlights the advantage of neutrons in revealing cartilaginous soft-tissue remains, complete internal organs, stomach contents and entire organisms that are invisible to traditional X-ray tomography.

The talk will wrap up with recent, unpublished technical developments in neutron imaging at ANSTO, and the future direction for neutron capabilities and applications in Australia.

Dr Joseph Bevitt is a 3D imaging scientist and group manager for the Imaging and Strain Scanning Group at ANSTO’s Australian Centre for Neutron Scattering. Joseph pioneers the use of neutrons, often in combination with synchrotron X-rays, to digitally excavate and reveal fossils, their exceptionally preserved soft-tissue structures, stomach contents and environmental interactions.

Joseph obtained a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Sydney in 2006, weaving a career in teaching, research policy, administration and management before transitioning to research in 2018. Joseph is a former NSW Branch President of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI), Research Fellow of the Jilin University Dinosaur Evolution Research Centre, recipient of the RACI Nyholm Lectureship, AONSA Neutron Award and Powerhouse Research Fellowship Member of the IUCr Commission on Crystallography in Art and Cultural Heritage.

He actively engages the public imagination, reaching global audiences via the media with diverse discoveries such as the partially digested remains of a dinosaur in the stomach of an ancient crocodile, evidence of recycling of mummified animal offerings in Ancient Egypt, the world’s oldest fossilised heart, and the earliest evidence of fruit-eating by animals. His research has featured in Science, Nature, National Geographic, The Conversation, Catalyst, natural history documentaries, Australian postage stamps and coins. Aiming to bridge the gap between science and art, his works have been exhibited in the MAAS Powerhouse Museum’s Out of Hand and The Invisible Revealed exhibitions, the latter achieving the Museum and Galleries National Award for Research in 2022.

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