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.
To: Natural Science Collections Alliance Members Per the NSC Alliance By-Laws, I am writing to inform you that the NSCA Board of Directors has identified the slate of candidates to stand for election to the Board. The candidates are identified below. If you wish to nominate additional candidates to serve on the Board, please contact […]
The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) Program has announced several upcoming training programs and meetings. The “NAGPRA Basics” training covers the background of the Act, the consultation and decision making process, notices, grants, and civil penalties. Both new and veteran NAGPRA practitioners have found this training to be helpful in their work. […]
iDigBio has released a white paper to provide guidance to principal investigators who are interested in applying for funding from the Advancing Digitization of Biological Collections program at the National Science Foundation (NSF). The guide was compiled with guidance from NSF program officers and senior iDigBio staff. Read the guide at https://www.idigbio.org/content/writing-proposal-adbc-program-nsf.
Applications are being accepted for an award that recognizes student appreciation for the natural history of insect pests. The winner will receive $500 for the most interesting and inspiring research paper on an insect that is usually regarded as a pest. The award is sponsored by the Forest Entomology lab at the University of Florida […]
Nominations of doctoral students who are studying systematic biology or horticulture are being sought for the Lawrence Memorial Award. The award honors the memory of Dr. George H. M. Lawrence, founding Director of the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation. The award provides $2,000 to support travel for doctoral dissertation research in systematic botany or horticulture, […]
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 […]