*Shared with permission from the Bulletin of Marine Science
Nancy Voss was a Research Emeritus Professor at the UM Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Sciences. She was a founding member of the Cephalopod International Advisory Council (CIAC), having served as a member of the council throughout the ‘80s and early ‘90s, as well as briefly serving as its president between 1986 and 1988.
Through her systematic and zoogeographic studies of pelagic cephalopods, Nancy made significant contributions to the characterization of new species in the Histioteuthidae, Cranchiidae, and Promachoteuthidae families. In recognition of her promotion of the collections under her care, the crab species Nancyplax vossi, as well as polychaete worms Lumbricalus vossae, Scolelepis vossae, and Piromis vossae were named in Nancy’s honor.
Following Nancy’s passing in 2020, Dr. Nikki Traylor-Knowles became the director of the RSMAS Marine Invertebrates Museum, which has been renamed the Voss Marine Invertebrate Collection in honor of her and her husband, former collection direction Dr. Gilbert L. Voss.
Alongside collection curator Dr. Maria Criales and RSMAS library director Angela Clark, the principles and values set by RSMAS founder F. G. Walton Smith and the Voss’ continue to be pursued today. The VMIC is currently working to improve the preservation of physical samples and digitize the contents of the collection to revitalize and enhance accessibility to a critical resource for current and future research of marine invertebrates. To support this initiative, we encourage those interested and able to donate to the VMIC by clicking on the link below.
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