Natural Science Collections Alliance
Our members are part of an international community of museums, botanical gardens, herbariums, universities and other institutions that house natural science collections and utilize them in research, exhibitions, academic and informal science education, and outreach activities.
Legislation is pending in the House of Representatives that would require the public release of sensitive information regarding peer review of federal grants. As it is currently drafted, the Grant Reform and New Transparency (GRANT) Act, HR 3433, would require that the government publish online grant proposals funded by federal agencies. Unlike the current government […]
The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) is offering two research awards to current graduate students pursuing research involving biodiversity data. The 2012 Young Researchers Award is intended to foster innovative research and discovery in biodiversity informatics. Two awards of €4,000 will be available to graduate students in a master’s or doctoral program at a university […]
The NSF-funded iDigBio project is pleased to announce a Visiting Scholars program available at the national headquarters (HUB), University of Florida, Gainesville, starting in 2012. Emphasis will be placed on early-career collections and informatics-based professionals with demonstrated interest in digitization, particularly those who broaden representation within this academic and professional community. The iDigBio Visiting Scholars program […]
After months of negotiations, Congress finally approved a $915 billion deal to fund a major portion of the federal government through fiscal year (FY) 2012.  The so-called ‘megabus’—a collection of nine appropriations bills—will fund the Departments of Defense, Energy, Education, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Interior, Labor, and State, as well as numerous independent […]
The Emerging Public Policy Leadership Award (EPPLA) recognizes graduate students in the biological sciences with an interest and aptitude for working at the intersection of science and public policy. EPPLA winners will receive a free trip to Washington, DC to participate in the 2012 BESC Congressional Visits Day on 28-29 March 2012. Applications must be […]
The Musee Associatif D’Histoire Naturelle in France has digitized over 23,000 documents, which are now available online in the museum’s Digital Library. Included in the online repository are numerous old and rare books and plates on zoology, botany, and entomology. Learn more at http://t.ymlp334.net/hwalaesheanawbadauehbh/click.php.
Fragments of a fossilized skull collected nearly a century ago have been identified as a new species of dinosaur. The fossils sat in obscurity in The Natural History Museum of London after they were collected by a father and son pair in southern Alberta, Canada in 1916. Recently, researchers rediscovered the fossils and realized that […]
As described in a recent article in The New York Times, some birding enthusiasts aren’t just interested in seeing live birds. The Nuttall Ornithological Club, the nation’s oldest birding group, enjoys infrequent visits to the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology to view feathered specimens. Learn more at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/29/science/nations-oldest-birding-group-serves-as-a-collective-memory.html?_r=2&ref=science.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has announced the availability of funding for museums to improve management of their collections. Connecting to Collections Statewide Implementation Grants are available to provide safe conditions for collections; to develop an emergency plan; to assign responsibility for collections care; and to work collaboratively to increase public and […]
As much as coral reefs have captured the interest of scientists and the public, little is known about reefs that occur more than 200 feet below the surface. These mesophotic, or “middle light,” reefs are the interest of Carole Baldwin, curator of fishes at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Baldwin has been studying […]