Donald R. Prothero is a paleontology and geology researcher, teacher, and author. He is adjunct professor of geological sciences at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and research associate in vertebrate paleontology at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. His Columbia University Press books include The Story of the Earth in 25 Rocks: Tales of Important Geological Puzzles and the People Who Solved Them (2018), The Story of the Dinosaurs in 25 Discoveries: Amazing Fossils and the People Who Found Them (2019), and The Story of Evolution in 25 Discoveries: The Evidence and the People Who Found It (2020).