THE FIELD MUSEUM 2001 ANNUAL REPORT TO THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES ACADEMIC AFFAIRS Office of Academic Affairs, The Field Museum 1400 South Lake Shore Drive Chicago, IL 60605-2496 USA Phone (312) 665-7811 Fax (312) 665-7806 WWW address: http://www.fmnh.org - This Report Printed on Recycled Paper - Revised June 2002 -1- CONTENTS 2001 Annual Report................................................................................................................................................... 3 Collections and Research Committee.................................................................................................................... 15 Academic Affairs Staff List..................................................................................................................................... 16 Publications, 2001 .................................................................................................................................................... 21 Active Grants, 2001.................................................................................................................................................. 40 Conferences, Symposia and Invited Lectures, 2001 ............................................................................................ 48 Museum and Public Service, 2001 ......................................................................................................................... 57 Professional Travel, 2001 ........................................................................................................................................ 67 Public Education and Outreach, 2001 ................................................................................................................... 78 Higher Education, 2001........................................................................................................................................... 91 Training Programs, 2001 ........................................................................................................................................ 99 Academic Affairs Interns, 2001............................................................................................................................ 105 Resident Graduate Students, 2001....................................................................................................................... 107 Academic Affairs Volunteers, 2001 ..................................................................................................................... 108 Honorary Appointments, 2001 ............................................................................................................................ 110 Collection Statistics, 2001...................................................................................................................................... 117 Field Museum Press ............................................................................................................................................. 121 The Pritzker Laboratory for Molecular Systematics and Evolution................................................................ 122 Scanning Electron Microscope ............................................................................................................................ 123 Scholarship Committee ........................................................................................................................................ 124 -2- ACADEMIC AFFAIRS - 2001 ANNUAL REPORT 2001 was a year of major change for Academic Affairs. After a hiatus lasting more than two years, the new Vice President for Academic Affairs took up office on 1st September, following a six-week orientation visit in February/March. In the interim, the continued high-level operation of Academic Affairs was maintained and coordinated by a Management Group including the Chairs of Anthropology, Botany, Geology and Zoology, the Directors of ECP and CCUC and representatives of the Professional Staff, skillfully supported by the members of the Academic Affairs office. This Management Group not only coped admirably with a wide range of administrative tasks but also fostered an enhanced level of inter-departmental cooperation that did much to offset the continued absence of a Vice President. Capitalizing on the signal success of this provisional administrative arrangement, a formal Academic Affairs Management Group (AAMG), established with the same basic composition, now meets regularly to discuss and plan all matters of strategic importance. As 2001 drew to a close, this proved to be an invaluable forum to deal effectively with a marked increase in activity on many fronts. In the latter part of 2001, all aspects of The Field Museum’s operations were of course deeply affected by the tragic and harrowing events of 11th September. In this context, it is noteworthy that the Museum's immediate response in organizing discussion opportunities not only for staff but also for the local community was widely appreciated. This response was particularly supported by members of the Department of Anthropology and CCUC, who gave freely of their time in helping our constituents to come to terms with the trauma. As an institution, we drew strength from this vigorous and compassionate response to a national tragedy. In common with other major institutions serving the general public, The Field Museum faced the aftermath of 11th September on top of an unexpected economic downturn, which will hopefully be short- lived. In fact, because the Museum responded to the changing economic climate in a timely fashion by introducing a revised budget in the middle of 2001, it wisely forestalled more acute problems later in the year. As a result of the underlying strength of the institution and the detailed planning that had already been initiated, the special measures needed to achieve a balanced budget were kept within acceptable bounds, such that in Academic Affairs a continued high level of activity and even some new initiatives were possible. Regrettably, the prevailing adverse economic conditions have temporarily halted the progressive implementation of the Strategic Plan, but it is hoped that we will soon be able to resume full implementation of this well-considered and much-needed initiative. Academic Affairs can look back on an impressive overall list of achievements in 2001. Full details of individual key activities are provided in the body of this Annual Report, but this introduction will emphasize the many highlights. In their core activity of fundamental research in anthropology, botany, geology and zoology, the academic staff continued to perform at a truly outstanding level. As one measure of this success, 2001 was a bumper year for publications. Members of Academic Affairs produced as sole authors or co-authors six edited books, five edited volumes, nearly 60 chapters in edited works, almost 140 papers in periodicals, 20 technical reports and (as part of an increasing trend) five substantial electronic publications—some 240 publications in all. Furthermore, in 2001 members of Academic Affairs continued to achieve a pre-eminently high level of success in securing outside grants in support of research projects. More than $3.5 million dollars in new competitive grants and contracts were awarded for projects in research, collections, training and public learning. The National Science Foundation (NSF) alone awarded a total of $2.3 million dollars for new research projects, reflecting the fact that Academic Affairs attained a success rate of 35% for proposals, following closely on the heels of Northwestern University and the University of Chicago and outpacing all other academic institutions in Illinois. With just over 40 curators in Academic Affairs, there are now some 80 active grants, including 32 from NSF. Members of Academic Affairs work diligently to explore and tap as many sources of support as possible. The number of different funding sources has tripled over the past decade, in 2001 reaching the highest-ever level of 25, and the year ended as one of our most successful ever, with active awards from all agencies totaling $18.4 million. -3- Among the many activities in which Academic Affairs engaged in 2001, planning for the move to the new Collections Resource Center (CRC) in two years' time occupied a prominent place. The CRC will provide more than 170,000 square feet of new space for collections and collections-related research in a spectacular underground development. This will allow for a significant expansion in space available for collections, permitting rehousing and compactor storage of some 2 million artifacts and specimens from Anthropology, Geology and Zoology and freeing up space for future expansion elsewhere. Our collections, which lie at the very heart of research conducted at The Field Museum, increased by 1.41% in 2001. With typical annual growth at about 0.5%, this remarkable increase corresponds to the cataloguing of almost 300,0000 new specimens, bringing the existing collections to a total of 21.5 million items. Attesting to the central importance of our collections to research, loan activity was extremely high during 2001, with 71,000 specimens going out on 782 individual loans. In addition to the additional space created for collections in the CRC, preparation for the move provides an opportunity for much-needed conservation work on many items, particularly those from Anthropology, prior to their move into state- of-the-art storage