The Paleontological Research Institution has awarded its annual Katherine Palmer Award to Florida Museum of Natural History volunteer Barbara K. Toomey for her work with the Invertebrate Paleontology Division.
The award is presented to non-professional paleontologists for their contributions to the field of paleontology. In her over 30 years as a volunteer, Toomey has conducted collecting trips to Jamaica, donated her collection of Cenozoic fossils, helped unpack, sort and organize several hundred thousand fossils and offered financial support to the Museum. She also helped completely reorganize the invertebrate paleontology reprints in the Museum’s G.G. Simpson Library and “has worked tirelessly to feed hordes of people during professional research and avocational collecting field trips,” according to Florida Museum invertebrate paleontology collections director Roger Portell, who nominated Toomey for the award.
The award was presented at the Mid-America Paleontological Society Fossil Expo April 6-8 in Iowa City, Iowa.
Learn more about the Invertebrate Paleontology Division at the Florida Museum.