Community Announcements

Tell the iDigBio community about your upcoming events, projects or other items pertinent to biodiversity and biological collections.

Anyone with an iDigBio account may create a community announcement. Once logged in, you can create a new community announcement here: New Community Announcement

Full-time position in museum informatics

Full-time position in museum informatics

The Center for Biological Research Collections at Indiana University invites applications for a full-time position in museum informatics.

We seek a project coordinator for the development of digital resources from IU’s plant, animal, and fossil collections with skills in programing, biological nomenclature, and digital 3D data who will coordinate activities digitization and data processing activities. A graduate degree in museum informatics (or equivalent experience) is required, as are skills in computer programming and SQL databases. The appointment will be for four years pending satisfactory evaluation. Additional information is available at http://www.indiana.edu/~cbrc/search.html.

For full consideration, candidates should review the application requirements and submit their application at: http://indiana.peopleadmin.com/postings/616. Questions regarding the position or application process can be directed to: Professor David Polly (pdpolly@indiana.edu).

Indiana University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer; women and minorities are especially encouraged to apply.

Graduate Student Science Policy Leadership Award

History and Mission

The American Society of Mammalogists has a long-standing commitment to providing legislators and public policy officials with the best available science. We are committed to communicating the results of our research to a broad audience and engaging the public in the process of scientific inquiry through increased understanding. In the spirit of creating a scientifically informed society, we offer this award to graduate students as an opportunity to further their professional development and increase their skills in communicating science.

Recipients of this award are provided an expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C. to participate in an American Institute of Biological Sciences public policy training and Congressional Visits Day. During the first day, recipients will meet with federal agency scientists to discuss research and budget priorities, with opportunities to discuss the role of science in the public policy process within federal agencies. The second day will focus on meetings with congressional policy makers to discuss the importance of federal investment in the biological sciences. The event will be held in Spring 2014.

Recipients of this award also will receive a one-year membership in AIBS, including a subscription to the journal BioScience and a copy of “Communicating Science: A Primer for Working with the Media.” They also will receive an award certificate upon completion of the public policy leadership training.

Application Process and Requirements

All graduate students who are members of the American Society of Mammalogists are encouraged to apply. You must obtain membership prior to submission of your application to be considered. Successful applicants will have demonstrated an interest in the science/policy interface (i.e. student government, 4H, experience within federal agencies, etc.) and have an interest in further developing their understanding of the public policy process. Successful applicants must be able to commit to a three-day trip to Washington, D.C. in Spring 2014.

To apply: Send a cover letter, one-page policy statement (see below), resume, and one letter of reference to natalie.dawson@umontana.edu no later than 5:00 PM Mountain Standard Time on Monday, 15 January 2014. The subject line of the email must include “ASM Graduate Student Science Policy Leadership Award” and the applicant’s name. All documents should be included in a single PDF document with the format Applicantfirstname_Lastname_Application.pdf.

Cover Letter: Describe your interest in science policy and how this experience will further your career goals. Confirm your ability to commit to travel to Washington D.C. in Spring 2014 to participate in the event.
One-page Statement: In 500 words or less, articulate the importance of federal support of research in the biological sciences and mammalogy. A successful statement will communicate the significance of such research to a non-scientist audience, drawing upon the applicant’s experiences and research. The statement can also reference local issues that may be of interest to your Congressional delegation.
Resume (2 page limit): The resume should emphasize leadership, as well as policy experience, and communication experience. This may include graduate, undergraduate, or non-academic activities, relevant education, work experience, honors and awards, and membership in scientific societies. Conference presentations and scientific manuscripts will not be considered in the evaluation of the application.
Letter of Reference: A reference letter should be provided by an individual who can attest to your leadership, interpersonal, and communication skills. The writer should be who is familiar with your interest in or experience with science policy.

Applicants will be notified in February 2014 of the decision of the selection committee. Please direct questions to natalie.dawson@umontana.edu

Source: http://www.mammalsociety.org/committees/graduate-student-science-policy-leadership-award

New Solicitation for Core Proposals to DEB at NSF

A new solicitation for core proposals to DEB at NSF has been posted – NSF 14-503 (http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=503634&org=DEB&from=home):

Solicitation 14-503

Important Notice to Proposers

A revised version of the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG), NSF 13-1, was issued on October 4, 2012 and is effective for proposals submitted, or due, on or after January 14, 2013. Please be advised that, depending on the specified due date, the guidelines contained in NSF 13-1 may apply to proposals submitted in response to this funding opportunity.

Please be aware that significant changes have been made to the PAPPG to implement revised merit review criteria based on the National Science Board (NSB) report, National Science Foundation's Merit Review Criteria: Review and Revisions. While the two merit review criteria remain unchanged (Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts), guidance has been provided to clarify and improve the function of the criteria. Changes will affect the project summary and project description sections of proposals. Annual and final reports also will be affected.

A by-chapter summary of this and other significant changes is provided at the beginning of both the Grant Proposal Guide and the Award & Administration Guide.

DUE DATES

Preliminary Proposal Deadline Date: January 23, 2014

January 23, Annually Thereafter

Full Proposal Deadline Date: August 4, 2014

August 2, Annually Thereafter

SYNOPSIS

The Division of Environmental Biology (DEB) supports fundamental research on populations, species, communities, and ecosystems. Scientific emphases range across many evolutionary and ecological patterns and processes at all spatial and temporal scales. Areas of research include biodiversity, phylogenetic systematics, molecular evolution, life history evolution, natural selection, ecology, biogeography, ecosystem structure, function and services, conservation biology, global change, and biogeochemical cycles. Research on organismal origins, functions, relationships, interactions, and evolutionary history may incorporate field, laboratory, or collection-based approaches; observational or manipulative experiments; synthesis activities; as well as theoretical approaches involving analytical, statistical, or computational modeling.

New Deadline for ADBC Program

Hi, all. As you know, with the government shutdown, the deadline for ADBC was in question. The program officers were allowed to grant five day extensions only, because of the contingency clause in the Grant Proposal Guide, but the official NSF decision about length of time to extend the deadline depended upon many factors, including assessing all the upcoming deadlines, the number of proposals anticipated for those programs, and dates when the missed deadlines could be accommodated. That analysis is now completed, and the ADBC deadline will be November 13, 2013.

PLEASE CHECK THE NSF WEB SITE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION AND FAQs (http://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/postshutdown.jsp).

We thank you for your patience and encourage you to submit proposals as soon as they are ready, since more proposals will now be coming into the system. Obviously this delay in the deadline will also delay the review process and we do not know what twists and turns are ahead. We appreciate the support of the community in these efforts.

Dr. Judith E. Skog

Directorate for Biological Sciences

Office of the Assistant Director

NSF, 4201 Wilson Blvd

Arlington, VA 22230

e-mail: jskog@nsf.gov

Phone: 703-292-7909

IT Expert position with iDigBio, University of Florida

This is a support position for the Advanced Computing and Information Systems (ACIS) laboratory. The Director of the ACIS laboratory, Dr. Jose Fortes, is leading the IT component of a large multi-university project titled “National Resource for Digitization of Biological Collections” (iDigBio). The iDigBio project is an exciting initiative to provide software and infrastructure to digitize the nation’s biological collections and disseminate that infrastructure to other institutions. The ACIS laboratory is responsible for designing and developing the middleware, supporting storage, and cloud infrastructure for the project. iDigBio’s data integration expert will develop or utilize tools and techniques to automate data transformation tasks required by iDigBio’s mission. The expert will work closely with the rest of the iDigBio team to document and redistribute these tools and techniques, including the potential development of data transformation, cleaning, and analysis appliances. The expert will be a contact person for new data sources of iDigBio’s systems. In addition to jointly developing data-management IT components with other ACIS experts, the expert will work with data providers on determining effective methods for the representation and transmission of data from source databases into iDigBio’s global schema. The expert will also work with data consumers to address their needs for additional data sources and types, or for establishing more effective data representations for iDigBio’s global schema.

To apply and for more details, go to: https://jobs.ufl.edu/postings/45214