Getting funded was out of the question, of course. While he could probably come up with a grant proposal, it would take months for it to be approved, if it ever was. He'd need something more solid than a few weird books, anyway. A hunch wasn't going to fly, even if it was a really good hunch. Luckily, although his pay was hardly princely, his frugal lifestyle and general disdain for vacations and the like left him with a decent amount of disposable income, and this was as good a way to spend it as any. If he picked the right friends, he could get a reasonably well-equipped expedition out to the island for a few grand, and if they found anything substantial, other professors would be falling all over themselves to join his little expedition.