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.
The potential of reviving extinct species and re-introducing them into the wild may seem like something out of the movie “Jurassic Park,” but some scientists and environmentalists are engaged in an effort to do just that. The topic of ‘de-extinction’ will be considered in a daylong public forum to be held on 15 March 2013 […]
The National Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act Program will hold a webinar on 2 April 2013 on identification of aboriginal lands. Under federal law, museums and federal agency officials must consult with Indian tribes from whose aboriginal land human remains and other cultural items were removed. Register for the event at https://www.livemeeting.com/lrs/8000963084/Registration.aspx?pageName=7111x2nwqg6m8c0w. The […]
On 1 March 2013, federal budget cuts that — according to the White House and members of Congress — were not meant to happen, began. Sequestration — $85 billion in across-the-board budget cuts to nearly all federal agencies — was meant as a threat to force congressional action to reduce the federal budget deficit. For […]
The next meeting of the NSC Alliance Board of Directors will be held on Wednesday, 19 June 2013 from 10 a.m. to noon (Mountain Time) in Rapid City, South Dakota at the 2013 annual meeting of the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC). Â The board meeting is the day before the NSC […]
A new report calls for the creation of a Network Integrated Biocollections Alliance to increase research productivity, solve societal problems, and drive innovation. The report was the outcome of a workshop of experts that was convened last fall to outline the steps needed to build a Network Integrated Biocollections Alliance (NIBA) in the next ten […]
A number of federal departments and independent agencies released revised information on the likely impacts of budget sequestration at the request of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski. Many agencies face cuts that would be especially damaging for research and development (R&D), as well as science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. Sequestration would have […]
Dr. Subra Suresh, the director of the National Science Foundation, announced on 5 February 2013 that he will leave the agency at the end of March. Dr. Suresh has accepted an appointment as the ninth president of Carnegie Mellon University. “It has been my extraordinary honor to lead the National Science Foundation, which is blessed […]
Nearly one hundred new lawmakers were elected in November. Let them — and their returning colleagues — know the value of federal investments in science. Please take a minute to send a letter to your members of Congress about the importance of biological research and education. Take action at http://capwiz.com/aibs/issues/alert/?alertid=62388191.
iDigBio, the National Science Foundation’s national HUB for Advancing Digitization of Biological Collections (ADBC), is pleased to announce the third in a series of preparation-specific workshops focusing on organizing, launching, maintaining, and/or enhancing a biological collections digitization program.  This new workshop will focus on digitization of dried insect collections (pinned or packaged), to include specimen […]
The Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections have released the preliminary details for their 2013 and 2014 annual meetings. The 28th annual meeting will be held on 17-22 June 2013 in Rapid City South Dakota. The 29th annual meeting will be held on 22-28 June 2014 in Cardiff, Wales. The theme is “historic […]