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.
Twelve research projects funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) will take multi-pronged approaches to better understanding the generation, maintenance, and loss of biodiversity. The program links functional, genetic, and phylogentic/taxanomic dimensions of biodiversity. Many of this year’s projects focus on microbes, such as the diversity of microbes in permafrost and the relationships between ants […]
A new report from the National Academies of Science summarizes the work of a committee of education experts on how the informal education sector could improve science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning. The workshop was held in February 2014 and brought together more than 100 representatives of the formal, informal, and afterschool education sectors. […]
The Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at the University of California, Berkeley is soliciting nominations for the Joseph Grinnell Medal. This award is given every five years to a senior scientist who exemplifies a commitment to natural history research and is making fundamental empirical and conceptual contributions to ecology and evolution. The award was established in […]
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded six grants totaling about $7.5 million to digitize biodiversity collections. The funding is part of a nationwide effort coordinated by the iDigBio program based at the University of Florida. This is the fourth round of awards made by NSF to establish new Thematic Collections Networks, groups of institutions […]
On 20 August 2014, the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS), NSC Alliance, and Society for Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC) announced the launch of a new national initiative to build a research and end-user community dedicated to developing a Network Integrated Biocollections Alliance (NIBA). The project is an outgrowth of recent scientific meetings […]
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is accepting nominations for the National Medal for Museum and Library Services. The award recognizes museums and libraries that have made extraordinary contributions to their communities. All types of nonprofit libraries and museums are eligible to receive the award. Anyone is free to make nominations, and self-nominations […]
This fall, the Heritage Health Information (HHI) 2014 survey will launch to assess the state of the nation’s collections held by archives, libraries, historical societies, museums, scientific research collections, and archaeological repositories. The results of the survey will be used to recommend next steps in collections preservation. The Natural Science Collections Alliance is serving as […]
Flora of North America News has announced that a new installment of the Flora of North America North of Mexico series will be published this month. Oxford University Press will be offering a 20 percent discount on Flora of North America, Volume 28: Bryophyta, Part 2 at www.oup.com with PROMO CODE 33009. The new volume […]
A piece of amber collected 50 years ago has yielded a species that was previously unknown to science. A new species of cricket from 20 million years ago was preserved in the amber. As reported by the Washington Post, the amber was collected in the 1950’s and sat in a lab at the Illinois Natural […]
A group of 70 scientific organizations have expressed concerns with a bill pending in the U.S. Senate that would further restrict the ability of federal employees to attend conferences. NSC Alliance was one of the signatories. In a letter sent to members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, the organizations stated, “The […]