23 July, 2001
Matthew Scott Friedman
University of Rochester
Rochester, NY
Dear National Science Foundation,
I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks for the
funding that you so generously provided that allowed me to participate in
the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History 2001 summer
session of the Research Training
Program. My involvement in this program has been enormously rewarding, and
the experiences I have had over my ten-week tenure will surely prove invaluable
in the future. No other two-month span in my academic life has proven so productive;
during my stay I was able to interact with respected researchers in their
fields, utilize the incredible holdings of the National Museum, and learn
new research techniques that will undoubtedly aid me for years to come. All
of these experiences were made possible by your investment in this truly unique
program.
My research entails the identification and description of a fossil fish skull
from the Oligocene of Peru. My research topic gave me a unique opportunity
to work with both extinct and extant fishes, and gave me invaluable experience
in preparing and illustrating fossil specimens. It seems likely that the research
begun during my participation in the Research Training Program will continue
to grow, as I am now considering a re-examination of the order Lampridiformes,
both fossil and Recent, as a topic of graduate research. Clearly my experience
with RTP is not just limited to a summer; I will carry what I have learned
and done here for the rest of my life.
As Thomas Henry Huxley stated, "The known is finite, the unknown infinite;
intellectually we stand on an islet in the midst of an illimitable inexplicability.
Our business in every generation is to reclaim a little more land." This
statement is just as true today, in the beginnings of the 21st century, as
it was at the end of the 19th. Thanks to the support of your organization,
this program produces a new generation of explorers thirsting to "reclaim
a little more land."
Sincerely,
Matthew Scott Friedman
Research Training Program, 2001