Supporting Kenyan Scholars: The Future of Global Sciences at the Turkana Basin Institute

Kenya’s Turkana Basin is one of the most important places on Earth for understanding the deep history of humankind and the natural world.

For decades, this remarkable region has yielded discoveries that have reshaped what we know about human origins, evolution, ancient environments and how life adapts through time. Even today, the Turkana Basin continues to reveal answers to questions we have not yet learned to ask.

Stony Brook University’s Turkana Basin Institute (TBI) exists to make discovery possible — supporting world-class field research while building long-term local capacity in northern Kenya. Positioned in one of the world’s most scientifically significant landscapes, TBI provides the infrastructure and expertise needed to conduct rigorous research in remote field settings, expand educational opportunities and strengthen collaboration with the communities connected to this work.

TBI serves as a platform for interdisciplinary research across paleoanthropology, archaeology, ecology, geology and climate science. The institute supports field expeditions and scientific teams as they study the past to better understand the future — helping us interpret how ecosystems respond to change and what the history of the planet can teach us about resilience, adaptation and survival.

Equally central to TBI’s mission is ensuring that research excellence is matched by investment in people. Funding young Kenyan scholars who are actively conducting research in the paleosciences is a goal that receives universal support from the global TBI community, including visiting researchers, alumni and longtime friends and supporters. We recognize that empowering East African scholars is central to TBI’s core purpose and the sustainability of its future.

This Giving Day, your support will directly facilitate research conducted by Kenyan scholars at TBI facilities.

Like the TBI Research Fund, these contributions are reinvested into TBI Kenya’s operations in Turkana, strengthening the infrastructure that makes long-term discovery possible.

Meet Aggrey Minya

Aggrey Minya’s education journey exemplifies the individuals we wish to support. Aggrey is a 2025 graduate of the Human Evolutionary Biology Master’s program at Turkana University College in Lodwar, Kenya. This is a partnership program with TBI. Aggrey has many field seasons under his belt with the Turkana Miocene Project and has transitioned into PhD research at the University of Memphis. Funds raised through Giving Day would support many other students like Aggrey who rely on institutional and foundation opportunities to conduct independent dissertation fieldwork in Turkana.

By allowing us to fund students like Aggrey, you are doing more than funding a project; you are fostering a new generation of leaders whose work will produce testimonials, social media insights and scientific breakthroughs that generate immense goodwill and pride within Kenya.

Your gift provides the flexible funding needed to train and support early-career Kenyan researchers, creating pathways for local leadership in paleoanthropology, archaeology and ecology.

Together, we can fuel discovery while investing in the people and partnerships that make it last.