New scholarship for emerging entomologists
A new scholarship will support emerging entomologists in UVic Science. The Ross Ian Storey Graduate Endowment will provide one or more scholarships to academically outstanding Canadian graduate students in the Department of Biology whose focus is entomology, the study of insects.
Remembering Ross Ian Storey
Submitted by Jay Storey, Ross' brother
My brother was always passionate about insects, from the time he was a little boy. Some of my earliest memories are of him running around with a butterfly net, and working on his insect collections. I think this scholarship would be a wonderful tribute to his spirit, his love of the natural world, and his love of knowledge. Though both my parents have passed away, I know they would have been thrilled to see this memorial to Ross, and to think that his legacy of passion for entomology was being passed on to future generations.
Ross’s specialty was dung beetles, which meant he sometimes had the unpleasant task of sifting through dung for his discoveries. In one memorable photograph (which I’ve been unable to locate), Ross is standing behind a kangaroo and lifting up its tail, looking for the inevitable dung, and its associated inhabitants.
In an interview with Ross, he said that thousands of years ago the ancient Egyptians had worshiped the Scarab (dung beetle), and that, in his opinion, mankind had gone downhill since then.
I hope that up and coming entomologists will develop the same love for nature and passion for the study of insects that my brother had, and that they will work to preserve the diversity of life on this planet.