Press Releases
Published: 08-28-2014
Zack E. Murrell, a professor at Appalachian State University, was given recognition in an article released by Appalachian State University, University News for receiving an NSF grant for $2.5 million dollars to digitize and create a database for more than 3 million plant specimens across the Southeast.
The project, “Collaborative Research: The Key to the Cabinets: Building and Sustaining...
Published: 08-25-2014
"The Beyond the Box Digitization Competition will award $1 million to the person or team who creates a technology that increases the speed and accuracy of digitization of a drawer of insect specimens and their associated data. The competition is a joint project of the U.S. National Science Foundation and the American Institute of Biological Sciences."
The competition will...
Published: 08-22-2014
Florida Museum of Natural History research assistant Zachary Randall uses an imaging system to photograph a skin of Brandt’s Hedgehog, Paraechinus hypomelas, so the digitized specimen can be accessed online.
Florida Museum of Natural History photo by Rob Robins
GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- The National Science Foundation has awarded six grants totaling about $7.5 million to digitize...
Published: 08-20-2014
Scientists announce national effort to foster digitization of biodiversity collections
WASHINGTON, DC – Scientists have launched 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 in which scientists have articulated a...
Published: 08-19-2014
“Given increasing rates of habitat loss and global change, we believe that responsibly collecting voucher specimens and associated data and openly sharing this knowledge (for example, through GBIF, iDigBio, and VertNet) are more necessary today than ever before.”
The article “Specimen collection: An essential tool” was recently published in the journal Science in response...
Published: 08-18-2014
An article recently published in the journal BioScience has highlighted the NSF-funded Research Coordination Network AIM-UP! and their work developing collection-based educational programs for undergraduates.
Abstract: Natural History Collections as Emerging Resources for Innovative Education
There is an emerging consensus that undergraduate biology education in the United States is at a...
Published: 07-23-2014
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The variety and abundance of plants, animals and insects in a given area define its environmental health. Each plays a critical part, and imbalances can lead to catastrophe — not only for the species but also for humans.
That delicate mix is what is known as biodiversity, and the University of Florida is launching an initiative to study and protect it....
Published: 07-14-2014
Larry Page would like to get back to his fishes, the catfish and loaches he studies as a University of Florida ichthyologist, but first he and his colleagues have some work to do on plant, animal and fossil specimens — millions of them.
Page and an army of helpers are on year three of iDigBio, a 10-year, $12 million effort to digitize the biological specimens tucked away...
Published: 03-21-2014
In a memorandum released today, OSTP Director John P. Holdren directs Federal agencies to develop policies that will improve the management of and access to scientific collections that they own or support.
Scientific collections are assemblies of physical objects that are valuable for research and education—including drilling cores from the ocean floor and glaciers, seeds...
Published: 02-12-2014
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — With the goal of promoting life-long learning, University of Florida researchers will use a four-year, $1.97 million National Science Foundation grant to create a nationwide network of amateur and professional paleontologists.
Fossil clubs across the country function independently and do not communicate with each other or professionals as most science-hobbyist groups do...
Pages
