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Paleontology — Federal Grants

Active NSF, NIH, DOE, and USGS awards for paleontology researchers — study of ancient life through fossil records and evolutionary history. Refreshed daily.

14 active awards listedTop researchers in paleontology

NSF awards

National Science Foundation
REU Site: Engaging Undergraduates in Interdisciplinary Evolutionary Science
John Logsdon · University of Iowa
$465KApr 2026
Collaborative Research: Calibrating the Pace of Paleotropical Environmental and Ecological Change During Earth’s Previous Icehouse
Adam Huttenlocker · Western University of Health Sciences
$241KMar 2026
Conference: 2026 Geobiology Gordon Research Conference and Seminar
Victoria Petryshyn · Gordon Research Conferences
$50KFeb 2026
Collaborative: AccelNet: Global Union of Bat Diversity Networks (GBatNet): Bats as a model for understanding global vertebrate diversification and sustainability
Tigga Kingston · University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
$1.28MMar 2026
Collaborative Research: Integrating modern and paleo perspectives to disentangle grazer and climate controls on fire activity
Ann Carla Staver · Princeton University
$837KNov 2025
CAREER: Unlocking the small-mammal fossil record to investigate eco-evolutionary responses to landscape and climate dynamics: a multi-proxy and cross-scale approach
Tara Smiley · SUNY at Stony Brook
$806KJul 2025
BRC-BIO: How the evolution of duck foot shape relates to swimming ability - from morphology to robophysical models
Glenna Clifton · University of Portland
$481KMay 2024
Proposal for a Workshop to Bring Together a Community of Paleontology Journals, Online Article Repositories, and Databases to Chart a FAIR Future for Their Data
Bruce Lieberman · University of Kansas Center for Research Inc
$31KFeb 2025
EA: Replacement of a Powder X-ray Diffractometer for Teaching and Geoscience Research at Appalachian State University
Sarah Carmichael · Appalachian State University
$98KFeb 2025
Collaborative Research: GEO OSE Track 1: Community-driven enhancement of information ecosystems for the discovery and use of paleontological specimen data
Lindsay Walker · University of Kansas Center for Research Inc
$83KMar 2025
Collaborative Research: GP-IN: Transforming geoscience fieldwork into integrated, virtual education experiences
Kristyn Voegele · University of North Dakota Main Campus
$194KFeb 2025
Collaborative Research: Energetic Controls on Marine Benthic Community Structure in Space and Time
Seth Finnegan · University of California-Berkeley
$360KAug 2024

NIH awards

National Institutes of Health
No recent NIH awards for this subfield.

DOE awards

Department of Energy (via USAspending)
No recent DOE awards for this subfield.

USGS awards

US Geological Survey (via USAspending)
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
PROPOSAL TITLE: ILLINOIS STATEMAP PROPOSAL (FY 2025) PROJECT PERIOD: 12/15/2025 ? 12/14/2026 PURPOSE FOR FY2025, THE ILLINOIS STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY AND THE ILLINOIS GEOLOGIC MAPPING ADVISORY COMMITTEE PRIORITIZED FIVE MAPPING REGIONS - NORTHWEST ILLINOIS, QUAD CITIES, GREATER CHICAGO, ILLINOIS VALLEY AND SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. MAPPING IN THESE AREAS IS IMPORTANT FOR CRITICAL SOCIETAL NEEDS SUCH AS MINERAL RESOURCES (INCLUDING CRITICAL MINERALS), ENERGY RESOURCES (COAL, OIL, NATURAL GAS), GROUNDWATER SUPPLY AND PROTECTION, ENGINEERING PROJECTS, EVALUATING (MINIMIZING) GEOLOGIC HAZARDS, AND BASIC SCIENCE. THE BEDROCK GEOLOGIC MAPPING WILL CONTINUE EFFORTS TO IDENTIFY AREAS WITH POTENTIAL FOR UNDISCOVERED CRITICAL MINERALS, ENERGY RESOURCES, AND AGGREGATE RESOURCES. THE SURFICIAL GEOLOGICAL MAPPING WILL CONTRIBUTE TO SCIENTIFIC OBJECTIVES AND IMPORTANT DATA TO AID INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT PLANNING, SAND AND GRAVEL RESOURCES, WASTE SITING, AND GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT. ACTIVITIES ACTIVITIES TO BE PERFORMED INCLUDE SUBSURFACE GEOLOGIC DATA COMPILATIONS, FIELD STUDIES OF OUTCROPS AND EXPOSURES, DRILLING (CONTINUOUS CORE), GEOPHYSICS, AND GEOLOGIC SAMPLE ANALYSIS. DATA COMPILATIONS WILL INCLUDE DIGITALLY SYNTHESIZING PRIOR RECORDS FROM OIL, COAL, WATER WELL, AND ENGINEERING BORINGS, AS WELL AS PRIOR GEOLOGIC REPORTS AND ARCHIVED FIELD NOTES. SAMPLE ANALYSES FOR THE BEDROCK PROJECT WILL INCLUDE PALEONTOLOGY STUDIES, DETRITAL ZIRCON PROVENANCE, AND STABLE OXYGEN AND CARBON ISOTOPES. FOR THE SURFICIAL PROJECTS, SAMPLE ANALYSIS WILL INCLUDE PARTICLE SIZE, MINERAL AND ELEMENTAL COMPOSITION, RADIOCARBON DATING, AND ENGINEERING PROPERTIES. THE FINAL GEOLOGIC MAPS WILL BE PROVIDED IN DIGITAL DATABASES WITH GEMS LEVEL 3 STANDARDS. DELIVERABLES AND OUTCOMES BEDROCK GEOLOGIC MAPPING DELIVERABLES (PROJECT 1) WILL INCLUDE (A) BEDROCK GEOLOGY OF ELIZA, BUFFALO PRAIRIE, SCALES MOUND EAST, ILLINOIS PORTIONS OF MENOMINEE & DUBUQUE SOUTH, 7.5? QUADRANGLES [1:24,000 SCALE]; (B) BEDROCK GEOLOGY OF FRANKLIN & PERRY COUNTIES [1:48,000 SCALE]; AND (C) GEMS LEVEL 3 MAP GEODATABASES FOR THREE PUBLISHED COUNTY MAPS (UNION, JOHNSON, AND POPE COUNTIES). SURFICIAL (QUATERNARY) MAPPING DELIVERABLES FOR THE GREATER CHICAGO PROJECT IN COOK AND DUPAGE COUNTIES (PROJECT 2), WILL INCLUDE STRUCTURE CONTOUR MAPS FOR THE HAEGER MEMBER AND THE LOWER WADSWORTH FORMATION, AS WELL AS A PRELIMINARY 3D GEOLOGIC FRAMEWORK AND PROGRESS REPORT. THE STATEWIDE SURFICIAL GEOLOGY PROJECT (PROJECT 3; PHASE 6) DELIVERABLES WILL INCLUDE STRUCTURE CONTOUR MAPS FOR THE TOP OF ILLINOIS EPISODE AND PRE-ILLINOIS EPISODE GLACIAL DEPOSITS, AS WELL AS TWO STATEWIDE GEOLOGIC CROSS SECTIONS, AND A PROGRESS REPORT. INTENDED BENEFICIARIES THIS ILLINOIS FY2025 MAPPING PROJECT IS INTENDED TO BENEFIT MANY USERS IN ILLINOIS, INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING EXAMPLES: (A) LOCAL COMMUNITIES IN JO DAVIESS COUNTY, PERRY COUNTY, FRANKLIN COUNTY AND QUAD CITIES BY IDENTIFYING MINERAL RESOURCES, ENERGY RESOURCES, AND MINE WASTE (B) QUAD CITIES LIMESTONE AGGREGATE COMPANIES (SUCH AS RIVERSTONE GROUP, INC.), (C) ENGINEERING AND CONSULTANT COMPANIES IN THE GREATER CHICAGO AREA (GEOLOGIC MAPS FOR INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS), (D) RURAL AND URBAN COMMUNITIES IN ILLINOIS (IDENTIFYING GROUNDWATER RESOURCES AND RECHARGE PATHWAYS).
$669,164U.S. Geological Survey
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
PROJECT TITLE: PRESERVATION OF GEOLOGIC DATA AND COLLECTIONS IN ILLINOISPROJECT PERIOD: 8 1 2023 THROUGH 7 31 2025PRIORITY 1:AWARD PURPOSE: THE AIM OF THIS PRIORITY ONE PROJECT IS TO MOVE THE STRATPAL COLLECTION TO THE NEWLY REFURBISHED PRAIRIE RESEARCH INSTITUTE CENTER FOR PALEONTOLOGY COLLECTIONS FACILITY FOLLOWED BY RE-CURATION AND DIGITIZATION EFFORTS OF THE COLLECTION.ACTIVITIES TO BE PERFORMED: THE DRAWERS WILL BE MOVED INTO NEW CABINETRY. SPECIMENS WILL BE MOVED INTO BRAND-NEW CABINETRY AND DIGITIZED WITH A KEYENCE MODEL VHX-7000 MICROSCOPE. ADDITIONALLY, ALL TAXONOMIC, STRATIGRAPHIC, AND LOCALITY DATA, INCLUDING TRANSCRIBED VERBATIM LABEL DATA WILL BE RECORDED IN THE CENTER FOR PALEONTOLOGY TAXONWORKS ONLINE DATABASE AS WELL AS AN UPDATE TO METADATA ON RESCICOLL.DELIVERABLES AND EXPECTED OUTCOMES CENTER FOR PALEONTOLOGY TAXONWORKS RECORDS ANDUPDATED METADATA ON RESCICOLL.INTENDED BENEFICIARY(IES) RESEARCHERS WORKING IN ILLINOIS AND SURROUNDING STATES (PARTICULARLY INDIANA, KENTUCKY, MISSOURI, WISCONSIN, AND IOWA) ON UPPER PLEISTOCENE QUATERNARY GEOLOGY.SUBRECIPIENT ACTIVITIES: NONE.PRIORITY 2:AWARD PURPOSE: PRESERVATION OF THE TUNNEL AND RECLAMATION PROJECT (TARP) CORE DRILLED IN THE CHICAGO METRO AREA.ACTIVITIES TO BE PERFORMED: THE ROOM WILL BE OUTFITTED WITH ROLLING BENCHES TO MAKE A RECONFIGURABLE WORK AREA FOR TARP PROCESSING. EXISTING SINKS UPDATED WITH SEDIMENT TRAPS TO PREVENT DAMAGE FROM SEDIMENT DURING MATERIAL PROCESSING ACTIVITIES (WASHING TARP CORE). LED LIGHTING WILL BE ADDED TO THE WORKSPACES. CONTINUED WORK ON NGGDPP FY22 TARP CORE ANALYSES (PROCESSING, PHOTOGRAPHY, PXRF ANALYSIS, RE-CURATION, ETC.) WILL BE COMPLETED, AND METADATA ENTERED.DELIVERABLES AND EXPECTED OUTCOMES CURATED TARP CORE, TARP CORE DATA ADDED TO THE ISGS BOREHOLE DATABASE, AND METADATA CREATED FOR CORE.INTENDED BENEFICIARY(IES): INDUSTRY, RESEARCHERS, AND THE PUBLIC WORKING IN THE CHICAGO METRO AREA.SUBRECIPIENT ACTIVITIES: NONEPRIORITY 3:AWARD PURPOSE: RESURRECTION OF THE WHITE COUNTY CORE AS THE STANDARD REFERENCE SECTION FOR THE ILLINOIS BASIN THROUGH REUNITING ITS SCATTERED COMPONENTS INTO A SINGLE COLLECTION.ACTIVITIES TO BE PERFORMED WORK ON THIS PROJECT WILL INCLUDE PHOTOGRAPHY OF CORE BISCUITS AND CRUSHED CORE SAMPLES. PLACEMENT IN NEW, LABELED ARCHIVE QUALITY CLEAR BAGS AND BOXES. SCANS OF ORIENTED POLISHED SLABS AND PHOTOGRAPHY OF ORIENTED MACROFOSSIL WHITE CORE SAMPLES WILL OCCUR. THE CORE WILL BE ANALYZED USING PORTABLE X-RAY FLUORESCENCE, WIKI PAGE DESCRIBING WHITE COUNTY CORE FOR ILSTRA T INCLUDING A DETAILED GRAPHIC LOG WITH TEXT DESCRIPTION LINKS TO RAW DATA AND PHOTOGRAPHS WILL BE CREATED.DELIVERABLES AND EXPECTED OUTCOMES: WIKI PAGE(S), SCANS OF CORE AND SAMPLES, X-RAY FLUORESCENCE DATAINTENDED BENEFICIARY(IES): EARTH MRI RESEARCHERSSUBRECIPIENT ACTIVITIES. NONE
$622,665.33U.S. Geological Survey
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