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Victor Gonzalez Betancourt named curator in bee biodiversity and evolution
The Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum at the University of Kansas has named Victor Gonzalez Betancourt as the inaugural Charles D. Michener Assistant Professor and Assistant Curator in Bee Biodiversity and Evolution. He will begin his role in early January 2026 with a joint faculty appointment in the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology.
A clerical error caused misidentification of frog specimen that once stood for an entire species
Researchers at the University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum recently uncovered a slipup from decades ago: the misidentification of a poison frog specimen from Peru used as a holotype.
Willadsen places in Top 3 at the 2025 ESA Annual Meeting
EEB Graduate Student Peter Willadsen received second place in the SysEB, Evolution and Systematics session of the graduate poster competition at the Entomological Society of America 2025 Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon. Willadsen’s poster was titled, "Untangling the evolutionary history of the water scavenger beetle subfamily Enochrinae (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae)". Willadsen is a PhD Student in Dr. Rob Moyle’s lab, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB), at KU.
KU Natural History Museum’s VENOMventure wins Leading Edge Award at ASTC conference
VENOMventure, a bilingual STEM-themed experience developed by the University of Kansas Natural History Museum, was honored with a 2025 Roy L. Shafer Leading Edge Award at the Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC) conference in San Francisco.
All News
Mon, 01/05/2026
The Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum at the University of Kansas has named Victor Gonzalez Betancourt as the inaugural Charles D. Michener Assistant Professor and Assistant Curator in Bee Biodiversity and Evolution. He will begin his role in early January 2026 with a joint faculty appointment in the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology.
Mon, 12/15/2025
Researchers at the University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum recently uncovered a slipup from decades ago: the misidentification of a poison frog specimen from Peru used as a holotype.
Sat, 11/22/2025
EEB Graduate Student Peter Willadsen received second place in the SysEB, Evolution and Systematics session of the graduate poster competition at the Entomological Society of America 2025 Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon. Willadsen’s poster was titled, "Untangling the evolutionary history of the water scavenger beetle subfamily Enochrinae (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae)". Willadsen is a PhD Student in Dr. Rob Moyle’s lab, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB), at KU.
Tue, 09/30/2025
VENOMventure, a bilingual STEM-themed experience developed by the University of Kansas Natural History Museum, was honored with a 2025 Roy L. Shafer Leading Edge Award at the Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC) conference in San Francisco.
Tue, 09/02/2025
Scholarship from the University of Kansas shows the cellophane bee is specialized by evolution to handle the harsh shocks and cold temperatures of early spring.
Tue, 08/26/2025
Researcher Gloria Arratia serves as editor and contributor to the just published first volume of “Catfishes: A Highly Diversified Group,” a two-volume reference.
Tue, 07/22/2025
A conclave of about 20 prominent paleontologists, data scientists and editors from academic journals will gather Aug. 4-5 at the University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum to improve how data is shared among professionals in the field — and beyond.
Mon, 06/23/2025
Paleontologists from the University of Kansas have described for the first time a species of Swaindelphys discovered in Texas’ Big Bend National Park, though the ecosystem was drastically different in the Paleocene, when it thrived, than today.
Wed, 06/11/2025
James Saulsbury, postdoctoral researcher in the Biodiversity Institute and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, received the Research Postdoctoral Achievement Award at the University Research Awards ceremony. In the video, Saulsbury talks about his research.
Thu, 05/22/2025
Three winners for the Stephen Benedict Most Impactful Professor Award were announced on Saturday, May 17, 2025 during the Undergraduate Biology Program Recognition Ceremony.