The Department of Biological Services has established the Bill A. Simco Graduate Research Scholarship honoring a professor who has been with the University of Memphis for over 40 years.
The scholarship will amount to $1,500 and go to one graduate student per year. Students studying biological sciences will send their proposals to the department's Graduate Studies Committee in order to be considered.
Although Simco specializes in aquaculture - the cultivation of aquatic animals and plants - the committee will consider students within any field of biology.
Graduate students wishing to apply must send in a research proposal listing what they want to research, why it is important and how it impacts the scientific community.
Bill Simco began at the U of M over four decades ago when the Biology Department emphasized teaching over research and only offered a master's degree.
"The main difference I've seen was the change from primarily being a teaching department to a research department," Simco said. "When I came, I had a teaching load of about 20 hours a week, and now it is much less than that."
Since then, Simco was one of the founders of the U of M's Ecological Research Center and still maintains his status as co-director. Simco also helped found the doctoral program in the Biology Department.
Simco's interest in aquaculture came from working in a graduate position at the University of Kansas. He began working with the culture of channeled catfish and fell in love with experimenting with them.
"Catfish are a really great experimental animal," Simco said. "You can get them in any number and any size. They are quite tolerant of experimental conditions, sort of like an aquatic white rat."
Although Simco is fond of teaching and research, he believes that the most satisfying part of his career is his interaction with students.
"It's very fun to interact with students and watch them progress," Simco said. "That's why I teach."
A reception will be held Friday, March 21, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the University Center, room 340B. Food and drinks will be provided, and the first recipient of the Bill A. Simco Graduate Research Scholarship will be named.
"I'm very honored to have a scholarship in my name," Simco said. "I hope that every graduate student applies and that it will help support students and research for years to come."
