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Denver Museum of Nature & Science awarded largest-ever research grant

An ambitious five-year research project has assembled a multidisciplinary team of scientists.

DENVER — The Denver Museum of Nature & Science (DMNS) has been awarded the largest research grant in its history, the museum announced last week.

The collaborative research grant from the National Science Foundation's Frontier Research in Earth Sciences program is worth nearly $3 million. DMNS said it will receive more than $1,280,000 from the grant.

DMNS said the research grant will fund work in paleontology across the Rocky Mountain region in the Western United States. The work includes fieldwork to study ancient life and chemical analyses.

A five-year research project will be led by DMNS's curator of vertebrate paleontology Dr. Tyler Lyson, with a multidisciplinary team of scientists. The goal is to understand how and when ecosystems recovered after a major extinction event.

According to DMNS, the project will help researchers understand the evolution of many modern plants and animals, as well as provide insights into the biodiversity crisis currently facing the planet, as ancient extinctions can teach about the extinctions happening today.

The project will span from Sept. 1, 2023, to Aug. 31, 2028.

Credit: Denver Museum of Nature & Science
Earth Sciences fieldwork, Denver Basin, Corral Bluffs site near Colorado Springs.

"We are tremendously honored and excited about the opportunities this grant offers our team," Lyson said. "Over the next five years, we are looking forward to building some amazing datasets to expand our knowledge of how and when life on land rebounded after Earth’s last mass extinction event 66 million years ago. And we can’t wait to share our amazing fossil discoveries with the world."

"We are committed to sharing our discoveries with the world and inspiring people to connect with the natural wonders that surround us," said DMNS President and CEO George Sparks. "This research project will allow us to engage with a global audience, fostering meaningful connections with science, nature and our planet's history." 

Collaborating institutions with DMNS

  • Brooklyn College - City University of New York
  • College of Charleston
  • Colorado College
  • Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
  • University of British Columbia
  • University of Colorado Boulder
  • University of Oregon
  • University of Wyoming

We have BIG NEWS! 🚨🦖 The Museum has been awarded a prestigious 5-year collaborative research grant from the National...

Posted by Denver Museum of Nature & Science on Friday, August 18, 2023

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