Research
The UMMZ’s research mission is enhanced by investments and gifts made by our friends and colleagues worldwide. These funds are put to good use, especially in training the next generation of leaders in biodiversity science. See, for example, Assistant Professor and Curator Alison Davis Rabosky’s research on coral snake mimicry in the Peruvian Amazon as highlighted here.
Undergraduate Student Support
Undergraduate engagement in biodiversity collection development and research is a vital part of the UMMZ’s educational mission. Participants get training in the knowledge, skills and operational competencies
required for research museum function and in research
methods for the study of biodiversity.
Working and conducting research in our research collections exposes our students to the sheer diversity of life on earth – thousands of species of birds, snakes, fishes etc. (including extinct taxa) collected from all around the world – that can only be experienced in museums.
Indeed, a number of leading biodiversity researchers have attributed their career choice to formative undergraduate experiences in university natural history research collections. Your support will enable undergraduates interested in animal biodiversity to have a fully immersive research museum experience.
Graduate Student Support
The UMMZ is justifiably proud of its track record of attracting and training excellent graduate students who are encouraged to initiate and develop their own research programs. Our students are competitive for Fellowships, Research Awards, and Best Student Presentations. The UMMZ has a global frame of reference and a large fraction of its research and collection efforts are directed toward geographically distant faunas. Success in research for many of our graduate students is predicated on being able to spend weeks-to-months in the field, becoming familiar with their study organisms, setting up long term experiments and sampling voucher material for detailed analyses back in the laboratory and for deposition in the UMMZ’s collections. Your support can be of great practical assistance in facilitating world-class biodiversity research by our graduate students, enabling them to successfully travel to remote study sites, perform detailed experiments and enrich our collections.
GIVING
The UMMZ has a number of endowments and gift accounts. Contributions to these support taxon-specific research by our curators, graduate student projects, collections development, and annual lectureships.
Gift and Endowment Accounts
Strategic Fund
Museum of Zoology Strategic Fund - 322115
Gifts to our Strategic Fund are helpful in addressing emergent issues and opportunities for the UMMZ and its museum program. These funds are used for providing seed money for pilot projects by faculty-curators, purchasing new equipment to enhance our educational and research activities and funding travel to professional meetings for students and collection managers.
Birds
Research Gift- Bird Division – 325605
Donations support pilot projects by faculty-curators, student research, equipment to enhance educational and research activities and travel to professional meetings in the UMMZ Bird Division.
Fishes
Research Gift - Fish Division – 325604
Donations support pilot projects by faculty-curators, student research, equipment to enhance educational and research activities and travel to professional meetings in the UMMZ Fish Division.
Insects
Research Gift - Insect Division – 325602
Donations support pilot projects by faculty-curators, student research, equipment to enhance educational and research activities and travel to professional meetings in the UMMZ Insect Division.
Mammals
Research Gift - Mammal Division – 325601
Donations support pilot projects by faculty-curators, student research, equipment to enhance educational and research activities and travel to professional meetings in the UMMZ Mammal Division.
Dr. Phil Myers Endowed Award for Field Research Fund - 798958
Awards to graduate students conducting field or collection-based research associated with Museum of Zoology or Biological Station, with preference given to students studying mammals.
Mollusks
Research Gift - Mollusk Division – 325615
Donations support pilot projects by faculty-curators, student research, equipment to enhance educational and research activities and travel to professional meetings in the UMMZ Mollusk Division.
Reptiles & Amphibians
Research Gift - Herpetology Division – 325603
Donations support pilot projects by faculty-curators, student research, equipment to enhance educational and research activities and travel to professional meetings in the UMMZ Division of Reptiles and Amphibians.
RMC Prairie Restoration Fund
RMC Prairie Restoration Fund - 335911
This fund supports the ongoing prairie restoration efforts at the Research Museums Center as well as outreach events and research activities directly related to the project.
Additional Endowment Accounts
MUSEUM of ZOOLOGY - Endowment Accounts
(SHORT CODE / TITLE / PURPOSE)
Please use this form to contribute to our other endowments as described below.
Bird Division Accounts
319740 Fargo, W.G. - Birds
Funds support activities of the UMMZ Bird Division
363950 Swales, M. R. - Research
Funds support Bird Division research through the acquisition of material or through the provision of scholarships.
329173 Storer, R. W. Fund BIRDS
Funds support acquisition, preparation, maintenance, or research related to the UMMZ Bird Division Collections.
321367 Jean Wright Cohn Endowment
To support the activities of the Museum of Zoology Bird Division.
Fish Division Accounts
303117 Hubbs, Carl L & Laura C. Fellowship
Fellowship for currently enrolled or accepted Ph.D. grad student (renewable upon satisfactory progress toward Ph.D. completion). Tuition funds not used can be used toward Fish Division graduate student support.
367285 Miller, Robert R. and Frances H. Endowment for Graduate Student
Research in Ichthyology Graduate Student Research in Ichthyology
308850 UMMZ Ichthyology grad student support
Research, travel, other support (including salary supplements) to graduate students in ichthyology.
Herpetology Division Accounts
366310 Walker, C. F.
Supports graduate students doing field research in Herpetology.
Insect Division Accounts
301084 Ammerman, Frank E. Museum of Zoology Research Fund
To support research/research collections in the Insect Division.
315404 Hubbell, Theodore H. Endowment for Systematic Research in Orthoptera Fund
The fund supports systematic research of Orthoptera, maintenance and acquisitions of new specimens, field work, visiting scientists/associates who use the Orthoptera collection for research, and publications on the systematics of Orthoptera.
Mammal Division Accounts
328003 Storer, R. W. Fund--MAMMALS
Funds support acquisition, preparation, maintenance, or research related to the UMMZ Mammal Division Collections.
325320 Phil Myers Endowment
Awards to graduate students conducting field or collection-based research associated with Museum of Zoology or Biological Station, with preference given to students studying mammals.
Mollusk Division Accounts
319760 Fargo, W.G. --Mollusk
Funds support activities of the UMMZ Mollusk Division
Museum Wide Initiatives
322710 Gaige, Frederick M. Research Fund
Funds shall be used by the Director of Museum of Zoology for promotion or publication of research in the museum.
326810 Hartweg, Norman E Memorial
Annual seminar in systematic and evolutionary biology called The Norman E. Hartweg Memorial Lecture in Tropical Biology
327800 Hinsdale, Edwin C. Scholarship
Scholarships for graduate students who are in an advanced stage of work ( i.e. who have achieved candidacy) within the Museum of Zoology.
362281 Tinkle, D. W. Memorial Scholarship
Scholarships for graduate students who have achieved candidacy in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology.
369950 Walker, E. C. Scholarship
Scholarships for graduate students who have achieved candidacy.
305989 Hubbel, T. H. Memorial Lectureship
Funds for an annual lectureship as part of Museum of Zoology Seminar Series.
344850 Research--UMMZ
Interest to be used for UMMZ research activities.
322738 Storer, Robert W--Fund
Funds to sponsor a lectureship relating to evolutionary biology as recommended by UMMZ faculty curators.
344750 Robert Rush Miller Museum of Zoology Publication Fund
Publication expenses for UMMZ publications.
