QRC members lead and participate in a wide range of disciplinary and interdisciplinary research projects from the study of past earth climates and glaciations to shifts in the geographic distributions and evolution of vegetation and faunal communities, to the evolution and dispersals of the genus Homo and the increasing scales of human modification of earth environments through the Holocene. QRC provides a venue for meeting and collaborating with scholars across Quaternary disciplines. We are also fortunate to be able to provide seed funding and small grants for member research projects. We are especially happy to support grad student and junior scholar research activities, much of which leads to larger, external funding from agencies like the National Science Foundation.
Estella Leopold Collection and Lab management Project
Abstract: Esteemed Emerita Professor Dr. Estella Leopold built a world-class research collection and laboratory during her tenure at the University of Washington (UW). Dr. Leopold is a pioneering paleobotanist, conservationist, and woman in science; she is the second ever Director of the QRC, member of the National Academy of Sciences, and esteemed Professor Emerita of the Biology Department at UW. Her research on Quaternary and Cenozoic climate around the world and her conservation efforts–leading to the founding of the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, co-founding the Aldo Leopold Foundation to keep the land ethic legacy of her father alive and thriving, among many other accomplishments–are a crowning contribution to UW’s reputation.
We have been entrusted with the responsibility to properly move and catalog Dr. Leopold’s collections of fossil specimens, equipment, and reference materials. Over the summer of 2023, and with the support of the QRC, we plan to inventory, coordinate, and move the various elements of the Leopold Lab in Johnson Hall as well as collections stored in Hitchcock Hall. Our project aims to ensure that these resources are still accessible to the Quaternary science research community and that Dr. Leopold’s legacy is preserved. As former director of the QRC, her significance within the QRC community warrants the investment to preserve her legacy. This project will also enhance the UW Burke Museum paleobotany collection in terms of specimens, reference materials, and laboratory equipment. We aim to serve as a hub of palynology research at the UW, of particular interest to many members of the QRC. We also intend to work with the QRC, Biology, Earth and Space Sciences, and Burke Museum to determine the best new home for the reference materials and equipment in the Leopold Lab. This project presents an opportunity to safeguard Dr. Leopold’s legacy and to improve the palynological and paleobotanical resources at UW; we look forward to sharing these resources with the QRC community in research and outreach endeavors in the future.
Abstract: Esteemed Emerita Professor Dr. Estella Leopold built a world-class research collection and laboratory during her tenure at the University of Washington (UW). Dr. Leopold is a pioneering paleobotanist, conservationist, and woman in science; she is the second ever Director of the QRC, member of the National Academy of Sciences, and esteemed Professor Emerita of the Biology Department at UW. Her research on Quaternary and Cenozoic climate around the world and her conservation efforts–leading to the founding of the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, co-founding the Aldo Leopold Foundation to keep the land ethic legacy of her father alive and thriving, among many other accomplishments–are a crowning contribution to UW’s reputation.