The Paleobiology Database Executive Committee is running a hackathon with the goal of creating exciting tools (web applications, R code, data analysis tools, data visualization tools, integration with other web databases, etc.) that use the Paleobiology Database API for research, education, or outreach.
When and where? March 20th-22nd, 2015, on the campus of UC Santa Cruz.
From Deb Paul, on twitter @idbdeb
Denver Museum of Nature & Science - photos by Chris Grinter
An M.S. research assistantship in Ichthyology or Herpetology is available through the Center of Excellence for Field Biology (CEFB) at Austin Peay State University (APSU) with an intended start date in August 2015.
The student will be supported by and assist in activities of an NSF-funded Collections in Support of Biological Research grant to improve the infrastructure and utility of the David Snyder Museum of Zoology and APSU Herbarium. Although the specific thesis research topic is open, the successful applicant will be expected to engage in natural history collections-based research related to the ecology or evolution of amphibians, reptiles, or fishes.
The assistantship includes payment of tuition and a 12-month stipend for two years (totaling $16,800/year). Additional resources such as field vehicles and equipment will be available for use in research through the CEFB. Renewal of this award in year two will be based on performance in the preceding year.
Austin Peay State University is located in Clarksville, TN, in one of the most biologically diverse regions of the southeastern U.S. For more information about the Center of Excellence for Field Biology, visit: http://www.apsu.edu/field-biology. For more information about the graduate program in Biology visit: http://www.apsu.edu/biology/graduate.
Required qualifications include
(1) a B.S. in Biology, Ecology, Evolution, or a related field,
(2) excellent interpersonal, written, and oral communication skills, and
(3) strong self-motivation and ability to work well independently and with a team.
Previous research experience and work in specimen curation or museum operations are not required, but applicants possessing these skills will be favored.
To apply submit the following as a single pdf file: (1) statement of research background and interests, including an explanation of your interests in museum collections and research; (2) curriculum vitae; (3) names and contact information for three academic or professional references; (4) unofficial GRE scores, and (5) an unofficial copy of your college transcripts to Dr. Rebecca Johansen at johansenr@apsu.edu by the 25th February 2015.
Review of applications will begin on 25th February 2015 and continue until the position is filled.
TO APPLY: https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/390306500?org=BIO
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is seeking candidates for Program Director in the Systematics and Biodiversity Science Cluster (SBS) within the Division of Environmental Biology (DEB), Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO) in Arlington, VA.
The 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 services, conservation biology, global change, and biogeochemical cycles. Research on 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 simulation modeling.
The SBS cluster supports research that advances our understanding of the diversity, systematics, and evolutionary history of organisms in natural systems. This research addresses fundamental questions in biodiversity, taxonomy, and phylogenetics, such as: What kinds of organisms exist in the natural world? How are they related? How did evolution lead to patterns of global biodiversity in time and space? How can phylogenetic history shed light on evolutionary patterns and processes in nature? Example topics include: expeditionary biodiversity research and discovery; identification and classification of organisms; and phylogeny and comparative phylogenetic biology. The SBS Cluster seeks to fund projects that are transformative - that is, those that innovatively and fundamentally transform our approaches to analyzing and understanding global biodiversity, its origins, distribution, and evolutionary history. The Cluster places a high value on integrative and holistic approaches to systematics research and training - i.e., those approaches and projects that integrate across all the components within the cluster (biodiversity discovery, organismal biology, taxonomy, phylogenetics, and evolution) and that train highly integrative systematists who can conduct research across the entire spectrum of these activities.
For more information about DEB and its Programs, please visit here.
Goal: Design, develop, implement, test and/or document uses of iDigBio data via its APIs
Location: University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Dates and times: June 3-5, 2015; 8 am - 5 pm each day
To apply: https://ufl.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_6Wr1womZuY7O5o1 deadline February 28, 2015. Invited applicants will be notified by March 9th.
The inaugural GBIF Ebbe Nielsen Challenge aims to inspire scientists, informaticians, data modelers, cartographers and other experts to create innovative applications of open-access biodiversity data.
For the past 12 years, GBIF has awarded the Ebbe Nielsen Prize to recognize outstanding contributions to biodiversity informatics while honouring the legacy of Ebbe Nielsen, one of the principal founders of GBIF, who tragically died just before it came into being.
The Science Committee, working with the Secretariat, has revamped the award for 2015 as the GBIF Ebbe Nielsen Challenge. This open incentive competition seeks to encourage innovative uses of the more than half a billion species occurrence records mobilized through GBIF’s international network. These creative applications of GBIF-mediated data may come in a wide variety of forms and formats—new analytical research, richer policy-relevant visualizations, web and mobile applications, improvements to processes around data digitization, quality and access, or something else entirely. Judges will evaulate submissions on their innovation, functionality and applicability.
As a simple point of departure, participants may wish to review the visual analyses of trends in mobilizing species occurrence data at global and national scales recently unveiled on GBIF.org. Challenge submissions may build on such creations and propose uses or extensions that make GBIF-mediated data even more useful to researchers, policymakers, educators, students and citizens alike.
A jury composed of experts from the biodiversity informatics community will judge the Round One entries collected through this ChallengePost website on their innovation, functionality and applicability, before selecting three to six finalists to compete for a €20,000 First Prize later in 2015.
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