Applications are now open for the inaugural funding round of the Dr James Fawcett Postgraduate Herpetological Awards.
These awards will benefit emerging herpetological researchers in Aotearoa New Zealand with up to three awards totaling $5000 awarded annually for applied and theoretical research on tuatara and native New Zealand skinks and geckos.
Herpetofauna include reptiles and amphibians, including palaeofauna, and the study of these species forms part of Auckland Museum’s research strategy into biodiversity, taxonomy and evolutionary ecology.
Dr James Fawcett was a life-long member of the Auckland Museum Institute and was a founding member of the World Congress of Herpetology in 1982, representing New Zealand. He was committed to assisting student research throughout his career. The research fund has been enabled by a bequest from James (with thanks to Georgene Fawcett).
Rebecca Bray, Senior Collection Manager of Auckland Museum’s Natural Sciences collections, anticipates that the Fawcett bequest will also build Auckland Museum’s capacity to support and engage with the tertiary student community. “We are incredibly grateful to the Fawcett family for their gift which provides much needed support for an area of scientific research that has traditionally struggled to attract funding. We hope to engage other supporters with an interest in New Zealand’s native species to ensure the longevity of the James Fawcett fund for future students and to expand the eligibility to include other herpetofauna from Aotearoa” she says.
Supported and mentored by Auckland Museum, eligible research projects will align to the Museum’s research strategy including fields such as biodiversity, evolutionary biology, collections research, taxonomy, ecology, mātauranga Māori, social sciences and archaeology.
The Award funding must be used for direct research expenses (fieldwork, lab work, equipment and consumables, data collection) that relate to the project and cannot fund living expenses and / or tuition fees. The maximum award for a research project that successfully applies to the Dr James Fawcett Postgraduate Research Fund is $5000.
Projects that build, contribute to or are inspired by New Zealand Museum collections and/or relate to mātauranga Māori of herpetofauna as well as applications from Māori and Pasifika students are encouraged.
A full list of the Dr James Fawcett Postgraduate Award criteria and an application form is available hereand students are encouraged to contact Rebecca Bray or Matt Rayner (Curator, Land Vertebrates) if they would like to discuss their research project before applying.
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