Matt Del Grosso Endowed Research Award

The Matt Del Grosso Endowed Research Award is established in loving memory of Matt Del Grosso who died in a hiking accident in Green Canyon near North Logan on 21 May 2015. Funded by family, friends, colleagues, and the Department of Biology, this award honors Matt's passion and love of travel and research.

Matt was a first-year doctoral student in USU's Department of Biology and was pursuing research on the social evolution of bees with faculty advisor Karen Kapheim. He and Kapheim completed successful field work in Panama just prior to his death. Matt earned a bachelor's degree in biology, with minors in chemistry and psychology, in 2012 from Maryland's Salisbury University. Active in undergraduate research, Matt's studies focused on sexual selection, population genetics and behavior genetics. He developed a profile of generic variance between two populations of chorus frogs ("Spring Peepers") and presented his research at a number of conferences. A proponent of environmental conservation, Matt served for a year as an AmeriCorps Conservation Corps volunteer in Utah and Nevada. During his term of service, he focused on removal of woody invasives and restoration of sage grouse habitat. Matt had an undeniable love of life and the outdoors and will be greatly missed.

The Matt Del Grosso Research Award is awarded annually by the Graduate Programs Committee in the Department of Biology at Utah State University. The award funds field research expenses, including equipment or travel expenses, for graduate students in the Department of Biology. Applications will be accepted annually and the award announced at the Biology Spring Awards Ceremony.