We recently received a grant during the inaugural cycle of UW-Madison’s pilot Research Core Revitalization Program (RCRP). This grant will facilitate transformative changes to WIRC infrastructure by allowing us to replace all of our substandard cabinets with modern, pest-proof, archival natural history cabinets. We will also add sorely needed additional new cabinets, insect drawers, and unit trays for the significant recent growth of our holdings and for future expansion of the collection. Support for this award was provided by the University of Wisconsin – Madison Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education (VCRGE) with funding from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF). (Funding period: July 2019–June 2020)
WIRC awarded 2020 Instructional Laboratory Modernization (ILM) grant
An Instructional Laboratory Modernization (ILM) grant was recently awarded to the WIRC. This grant, administered through the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) at UW-Madison, will allow us to enhance our role as an undergraduate teaching laboratory by providing the resources to improve our physical space in Russell Laboratories and to acquire additional microscopes and computers. Students regularly visit and use the WIRC as an integral component of their Entomology coursework, for work on independent or directed study projects, or as interns from the Zoology 405 course: Introduction to Museum Studies in the Natural Sciences. (Funding period: July 2019–December 2019)