2006-2007 - The Field Museum

ulk sample collection of the Insect Division, enabled by our diverse collections and the lab space
created by the new Collections Resource Center.
• A grant from the Spanish bank BBVA (Euro 175,000) to Associate Curator Thorsten Lumbsch
(Botany) and Research Associate Ana Crespo (Professor of Botany at Universidad Complutense,
Madrid), to study the phylogenetic relationships of Mediterranean species in the lichen family
Parmeliaceae. The project aims at elucidating the diversity of this widely distributed
Mediterranean taxa using molecular markers.
• An NSF grant to Associate Curator Antonio Curet and former Collection Manager William Pestle
(both Anthropology) of $150,000 for analysis of bone chemistry of over 250 individuals from
Puerto Rico. The ultimate goal of the research is a more refined understanding of subsistence
strategies of the island’s indigenous groups and the relationship of diet to other cultural and social
indices observed in the archaeological record.
• A two-year NSF REU Site Grant of $129,010 to Curator Chap Kusimba and Adjunct Curator Sibel
Kusimba (both Anthropology) to conduct research on food production, pottery and metals on
Mount Elgon, Kenya. Mt. Elgon is one of the most densely populated and ecologically and
ethnically diverse areas in East Africa, and the project aims to uncover archaeological evidence
of how its communities developed and integrated.
• From the Volkswagen Foundation, 255,600 (Euros) to Field Biologist Steve Goodman
(Zoology/Mammals and Birds) for the first phase of a 10-year program entitled “Advancing
Malagasy biologists: Capacity building for the next generation of conservation leaders.” The
program will involve collaboration with South African scientists, and is the first phase of a planned
10-year program. Steve was also PI on a major MacArthur grant ($820,000) for “Advancement of
conservation biology and the University of Antananarivo community,” aimed at improving the
physical infrastructure of conservation-oriented departments at the University, and supporting
advanced degrees for its faculty.
Perhaps the most high-profile example of this concerted effort at training are two federally-funded efforts,
the U.S. Department of Education’s GAANN program (Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need)
and the National Science Foundation’s PEET program (Partnerships for the Enhancement of Expertise in
Taxonomy). The GAANN program addresses a recognized need for rigorously trained scientists in the
biological and geological sciences to confront the environmental problems facing our world. Field
Museum Curator Greg Mueller (Botany) worked closely with Dave Jablonski of the University of Chicago
on a new collaborative GAANN grant. Funded at $633,360, the program will immerse CEB students in a
new, coordinated program designed to broaden their training through a series of integrated experiences,
including cross-disciplinary courses focused on ecological and evolutionary biology, training from
practicing scientists and policymakers, and intensive teaching and innovative internship opportunities.
The PEET program targets a decline in scientific expertise in “whole organism” biology, by making major
grants to support intensive studies of “under-studied” organisms, with training as a major component of
each project, including support for postdoctoral scientists, graduate students, and undergraduate interns.
The Field Museum has had five PEET projects since 1998, focusing on millipedes, staphylinid beetles,
fungi, and mollusks. In addition, Bruce Patterson and Doug Stotz’s Manu Biosphere project mentioned
above was funded by NSF's Biotic Surveys & Inventories program. Another new NSF grant to Bruce and
Brown Postdoctoral Fellow Carl Dick (Zoology/Insects and Mammals) and Research Associate Katharina
Dittmar (Zoology/Mammals and University of Wyoming) on the phylogeny of the bat flies of the world will
engage students from the Universidad de Puerto Rico in a course on interdisciplinary scientific research.
It’s also worth stressing that in addition to Steve Goodman’s Madagascar endeavors, many of the
capacity-building efforts noted above were supported by MacArthur, including Rick Ree’s biodiversity
research in Tibet, Larry Heaney’s long-term Phillippine efforts, and John Bates’ Congo training programs.
Foundation and federal grants are the lifeblood of research and training at the Field, but gifts from
individuals also significantly enhance the Museum’s efforts to train the next generation of
scientists. Our capacity to sponsor visiting scientists and graduate students was greatly enhanced in
8