Pete Henika Memorial Fund

The Pete Henika fund of the Virginia Museum of Natural History Foundation is now accepting proposals for the 2024 Graduate Student Research Award.

The award, up to $3,000 per student, will be given to two graduate students from a Virginia university for field-based research projects focusing on Virginia natural history. One award will be specifically for questions pertaining to Virginia geology, while the second project selected can be on any topic pertinent to Virginia natural history (Geology, Paleontology, Biology, Archaeology).

The proposal should be about a page in length (less than 600 words, not including references) with no more than one illustration. It should describe the project and indicate how it is related to the study of Virginia’s natural world. Medical studies and studies involving human biology are specifically excluded, as are projects involving domestic animals, including lab animals.

The proposal should be accompanied by letter from the student’s graduate advisor.

Applications are due by May 31, 2024, and the awardees will be notified by June 21, 2024.

Recipients will be required to submit a brief report on their work by Spring 2025, submit any available voucher specimens to VMNH for accession into the permanent collections, and provide a presentation at a VMNH event (e.g., lecture at the museum lecture series, informational table at a VMNH family science festival).

Please send applications to:
Ben Williams, VMNH Administrator of Science
ben.williams@vmnh.virginia.gov