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Dear all,
The message below came in this morning, and I'm distributing the info. to this list with Dr. Schultze's permission.
Kenshu
Kenshu Shimada, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Environmental Science Program
and Department of Biological Sciences
DePaul University
2325 N. Clifton Avenue
Chicago, IL 60614, USA
AND
Research Associate
Sternberg Museum of Natural History
Fort Hays State University
Hays, KS 67601, USA
>>> "Schultze, H.P." <H-P.Schultze@MUSEUM.HU-Berlin.de> 05/14/02 07:27AM >>>
________________________________
Decline of Paleontology at the Museum fuer Naturkunde, Berlin
A few days ago, the Expert Commission built up to determine the
future of the Museum fuer Naturkunde in Berlin deemed that:
"Regarding the professorship of paleontology, the problem
arises that this subject as such has no scientific autonomy but derives from
the objects it studies, namely fossils, and from the way it works, namely by
expeditions and preparation techniques. Apart from that, there is no
specific need to separate paleontology and the other areas of biology, as it
horizontally covers the fossilized forms of zoology and botany, while
providing a time dimension to evolution. It would, therefore, be better to
base the subject of the professorship on the general research profile of the
Museum, namely the study of systematics and evolution based on collections, and appoint a professor of Systematics and Biogeography (including molecular aspects). This would also bring in a hitherto-lacking theoretical approach to the area."
Consequently, and as recommended by the Expert Commission to the President of this University, the Institute of Paleontology at the Museum
fuer Naturkunde may disappear.
I was awarded the position of Professor of Paleozoology and Director of the Institute for Paleontology, at the Museum fuer Naturkunde of the Humbolt Universitaet in Berlin, in the summer of 1994. My desired objective (and that of the University administration at that time) was to develop an internationally acclaimed program at the Institute, after 45 years of post-Second World War social and economical constrictions.
Although the economical support once promised by the University
administration upon acceptance of my position has gone on unfulfilled, I
have employed a staff that is comprised of 15 professional scientists
(professors and curators) and approximately 45 individuals (technical
personnel, Emeritus scientists, research assistants, and graduate students).
All positions are nationally and internationally advertised, allowing the
University to acquire highly qualified and internationally recognized German
and foreign professionals.
In the last eight years, the Institute of Paleontology has expanded
and evolved: To name a few, we branched our research to include
collaborative national and international efforts, created professional
academic training programs for researchers abroad (e.g., Argentina, China,
Mongolia, Spain, Switzerland), and organized national and international
meetings, conferences, and special symposia in Berlin and abroad (e.g.,
Mesozoic Fishes; IPC Sydney: Pelagic ecosystems through time) to further the study of paleontology.
Included here are the major contributions that the Institute fuer
Paleontology has contributed to the Museum fuer Naturkunde of the Humboldt Universitaet, Berlin:
Research
Original research in the fields of systematics in paleobotany, invertebrate
and vertebrate paleontology is an important role of the Institute. In
addition, the Institute covers the applied side of paleontology (which is
not covered by the Institute of Systematic Zoology) such as biostratigraphy,
paleoclimatology, taphonomy, and biofacies analysis. In the last few years,
360 papers and 224 abstracts were published in international scientific
journals, alongside six published books.
National and international postdoctoral research fellows supported by
national (e.g., DAAD, DFG: German Science Foundation) and international
(e.g., A. von Humboldt Foundation, Argentinian Scientific and Technological
Research Commission, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fulbright, Max Planck Foundation, Spanish Ministry of Education) institutions contribute to the research activities of the Institute.
We created a scientific journal, Mitteilungen aus dem Museum fur Naturkunde in Berlin, Geowissenschaftliche Reihe, was initiated and four volumes have already been published and distributed.
The participation of 20 countries in the active and productive group,
Mesozoic Fishes, (developed by one member of our staff, G. Arratia) has
produced three international meetings and two books (with a third one in
preparation).
Collaborative research projects in Vertebrate paleontology include national
and international contributions with Argentina, Australia, the Baltic
States, Baltic States, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, England, France, India,
Italy, Mongolia, Poland, Russia, Spain, Tanzania, and the USA.
Collaborative research projects in Invertebrate paleontology include
national and international contributions with Argentina, Australia, Chile,
Hungary, Iran, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, Russia and Tanzania.
Collaborative research projects in Paleobotany include international
contributions with Bulgaria, Greece, and Sweden.
Members of our staff are editors and/or belong to the editorial board of
books and international journals.
Collections and Curation
It is estimated that our Institut holds roughly four million fossils, several thousands of which are typed and illustrated specimens. These are
permanent collections and are currently in the process of being
electronically catalogued.
Education
Staff members of the Institute are involved in the Graduate College Program
Evolutive Transformationen und Faunenschnitte which has been positively
evaluated by the German Science Foundation (DFG) in 2001 with a
recommendation to emphasize the importance of Paleontology.
The professors and curators of this program instruct students of various
fields, including the Department of Biology at the Humboldt University, the
Department of Geology at the Potsdam University, the Department of
Paleontology at the Freie University Berlin, and in the technical schools of
Berlin.
Honors and Awards
Gloria Arratia, one of our staff members, was awarded the Humboldt Prize for
her contribution to the field of Paleontology, as well as honored as
Honorary Member of the Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists of the
U.S.A. (the largest society in these fields). She has also been nominated
as a Member of the Academy of Sciences of Chile.
As documented, the Institute of Paleontology is an active and
invaluable entity to the scientific community. Paleontological specimens
(e.g. dinosaurs of Tendaguru, Archaeopteryx, etc.) are the heart of Museum
exhibits that generate interest and appreciation to the general public and
to the advancement of scientific interest. The statements of the Expert
Commission to the President of the Humboldt University, concerning
paleontology, will generate not only overall irreversible repercussions to
the study of paleontology but are globally symbolic of the future changes to
other fields of study deemed to have "no scientific autonomy."
I ask you and the members of your institution to write letters in
support of paleontology and the Institute of Paleontology, so that this
field of study may continue to survive and thrive. The Humboldt University
wants to settle this matter swiftly and hurriedly, so time is of essence.
Please fax and/or email your support ot the following German authorities
listed below.
Thanking each and everyone of you for your collaborations and support.
Sincerely,
Hans-Peter Schultze
An den
Regierenden Bürgermeister
Klaus Wowereit
Berliner Rathaus
Rathausstr. 15
10173 Berlin
GERMANY
Fax: XX49-30-9026-2013
email: Der-Regierende-Buergermeister@SKZL.Verwalt-Berlin.de
Senator fur Wissenschaft, Forschung, and Kultur
des Landes Berlin
Herrn Dr. Thomas Flierl
Brunnenstr. 188-190
D-10119 Berlin
GERMANY
Telefax: XX 49-30-9028-450/-451
Der Präsident
Prof. Dr. J. Mlynek
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Under den Linden 6
D-10099 Berlin
GERMANY
Telefax: XX49-30-2093-2729
email: praesident@hu-berlin.de
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