PhD student awarded Monash-Museum Victoria PhD top-up scholarship

Matthew McCurry 

Matthew McCurry, a PhD student with MNHS was recently awarded the inaugural Monash-Museum Victoria PhD top-up scholarship in a STEM discipline. 

This is the first year that these awards have been offered. The scholarship is awarded to 1 PhD top up and 1 Honours scholarship in both STEM and HASS each year to students making use of the Museum Victoria collections. 

Matthew's PhD project focuses on the evolutionary biology of crocodilians (crocodiles, alligators) and toothed whales (dolphins, orcas). 

"By studying these two groups I hope to identify relationships that can help us understand the ecology of many extinct aquatic species. My research makes use of many modern techniques such as 3D laser scanning, CT scanning and biomechanical analysis to shed new light on the skeletons and fossils in the Museum Victoria collections", he said. 

For Matthew, his experiences during his PhD have changed his career direction.

"I now hope to spend my career in museums. I have also recently been awarded a Peter Buck Fellowship by the Smithsonian Institution to undertake a year of research within the National Museum of Natural History". 

The award was officially presented at a launch of the new partnership on Thursday 7 May at Museum Victoria, photos attached (provided by MIGR).

Further information about the scholarships can be found online at http://www.monash.edu.au/migr/support/scholarships/monash-mv/ with more about the partnerships at http://www.monash.edu.au/migr/partnerships/monash-mv.html