Section of Botany - Buker Travel Award

CMNH - Section of Botany

~Buker Travel Award~

The W.E. Buker Travel Award
The Buker Travel Award provides funds to persons at any level of training (students, professionals, botanists, conservationists, and others) to utilize the botanical collections at Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CMNH). Awards are made on a yearly basis and applications are due by 31 March each year. The number of persons supported and the amount of the awards may vary. Presently awards up to $300 are available.

The application consists of a short letter (1- to 3-pages) outlining the overall project and reasons for visiting CMNH with a budget attached. The Buker Travel Award will support costs of travel, food, lodging, and supplies. Stipends and salaries will not be funded.

Send application by March 31st each year to:
Buker Travel Award
Section of Botany
Carnegie Museum of Natural History
4400 Forbes Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15213

For additional information, contact Bonnie Isaac, 412.622.3253; e-mail: isaacb@CarnegieMNH.org

W.E. Buker (1903-1997)
Werner E. Buker is a name well-known to those involved in studying the plants of Pennsylvania. For over four decades, Buker volunteered in the CM herbarium and also conducted extensive fieldwork in Pennsylvania. Buker's eye for rare species and penchant for making lists lead to many new discoveries as well as county records.

Buker was involved in the collection of 14,327 plant specimens from Pennsylvania deposited in the CMNH herbarium as well as numerous other specimens from outside the state. He collected over 1,600 different plant species from 46 Pennsylvania counties. In terms of number of Pennsylvania specimens, Buker is the third most prolific collector at CMNH - behind only O.E. Jennings and L.K. Henry, both full-time professional botanists who spent their entire careers associated with the museum.

In 1950, Buker was appointed as a Research Associate of the museum, a position he held until his death. He received the first Lifetime Achievement Award from the North American Native Orchids Alliance in 1996 in recognition of his work on Pennsylvania orchids. Also in 1996, the CMNH Section of Botany created the Buker Travel Award in his honor. This annual award provides travel support for persons at any level of training to utilize the botanical collections at Carnegie Museum of Natural History, including the many thousands of specimens collected by Buker.

In addition to his avocation as a botanist, Buker's real job was as a math teacher, principal, and later associate director of mathematics for the Pittsburgh public schools. He also found time to work as a real estate salesman, collect antique bottles, and raise a family.

Buker died on 1 October 1997 of pneumonia at the age of 94.

The Buker Award Fund, which supports the Buker Travel Award, was established as a CMNH endowment fund in 1996. Over 80 individuals and organizations from Pittsburgh to Japan have contributed to this endowment. In order to increase the size of the award and to fund more projects, this endowment needs to grow. Please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to the Buker Award Fund.

Make checks payable to Carnegie Institute - Buker Fund, and mail to:

Buker Travel Award
Section of Botany
Carnegie Museum of Natural History
4400 Forbes Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15213 USA