Page 13 - 2022 Report to the Community

New ultra-cold storage
preserves diverse DNA samples s
and allows museum researchers s
to look into the past and search for solutions to contemporary problems.
The Bell’s Curator of Genetic Resources, Associate Professor F. Keith Barker, is leading the installation of ultra-cold storage in the scientific collections for the preservation of diverse DNA samples from across the tree of life.
Bell Museum curators and their graduate and undergraduate students resumed their fieldwork in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to Bell curators being in the field, the Bell provided fellowships and awards to more than 20 students to engage in research around the world!
Our digital collection, the Biodiversity Atlas, grew to 1.5 million records and 500,000 digital images.
We are well on our way to expanding the Biodiversity Atlas to 2.5 million records through renewed external support.
After a highly productive 25 years as Bell Museum Curator of Fishes, Professor Andrew Simons will be retiring in 2023. The Bell Museum is grateful for Professor Simons’ commitment and dedication to this collection, which is in excellent condition, and to the generation
of scientists he has trained in specimen-based research.
SNEAK PEEK
Professor of Plant &
Microbial Biology
and our Director of
Science George Weiblen
will return to New
Guinea to resume his
forest research. _________
will oversee our invertebrate and vertebrate collections
beginning in 2023. _________
RESEARCH & COLLECTIONS | BELL MUSEUM
A new zoological
collections manager