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.
Researchers at the United States Geological Survey (USGS) have developed a new DNA protocol to distinguish between native and invasive aquatic plant species that have almost identical appearances. The tool was created using voucher plant specimens. “When invasive plants appear in a body of water, local people naturally are alarmed†said Nancy Rybicki, a USGS […]
iDigBio is seeking input from the digitization community, broader collections community, other scientists, stakeholders, and any others interested in iDigBio’s activities. iDigBio is funded by the National Science Foundation as a national hub to advance digitization of biological collections. The survey addresses ways users have interacted with iDigBio; views regarding iDigBio’s website, portal, and social […]
On 10 April 2014, the NSC Alliance director of public policy Dr. Robert Gropp was a witness on a panel testifying before the House Subcommittee on Interior and Environment Appropriations. He testified in his capacity as Chairman of the USGS Coalition, an alliance of organizations united by a commitment to the continued vitality of the […]
The Natural Science Collections Alliance submitted testimony to Congress in favor of increased funding for the National Science Foundation (NSF). The requested $7.5 billion would restore proposed cuts to research funding and enable continued investments in natural history collections. NSF requested $7.255 billion in fiscal year 2015. At this level, biological research funding would be […]
The Natural Science Collections Alliance and iDigBio will hold an important symposium on the future of collections this May. NSC Alliance members are encouraged to participate in “Collections for the 21st Century” at the University of Florida on May 5-6. The National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Advancing Digitization of Biodiversity Collections Program (ADBC) is in its […]
On March 10, 2014 the Smithsonian Institution selected Dr. David J. Skorton to be the 13th Secretary of the Smithsonian. Skorton will succeed the retiring G. Wayne Clough. Similar to Clough, who was president of the Georgia Institute of Technology, Skorton spent nearly eleven years as a college president, first at the University of Iowa […]
President Obama’s budget request for fiscal year (FY) 2015 requests $7.255 billion for the National Science Foundation (NSF). This is a proposed increase of $83.1 million, or 1.2 percent over the FY 2014 appropriation. The proposed funding increase would be directed to education activities and for agency operations. Each of these budget accounts would increase […]
President Obama released his proposed budget for fiscal year (FY) 2015 on 4 March 2014. The new fiscal year begins on 1 October 2014. The plan would provide $1.014 trillion for discretionary spending, the same level agreed to in the December 2013 Ryan-Murray budget accord. Most federal science agencies would receive a small budget increase […]
U.S. Representative Rush Holt (D-NJ) announced on February 18, 2014 that he would be retiring at the end of his current term. Holt has served in Congress since 1998. He is one of a handful of scientists in Congress. Holt has a Ph.D. in Physics and is a former professor at Swarthmore College. “There is […]
The Natural Sciences Collections Alliance is sharing the following opportunity with collections professionals. Katharine Corriveau, a graduate student in museum studies at John F. Kennedy University, is conducting a survey of natural history museum curators, collection managers, researchers and other collections professionals. Her research focuses on understanding the challenges that face the preservation and growth […]