AIBS Annual Meeting Scheduled for May

“Biodiversity: The Interplay of Science, Valuation, and Policy” is the theme of the 2006 AIBS annual meeting, to be held 24–25 May 2006. Plenary speakers and discussion groups will approach that topic from several interwoven perspectives.

The following distinguished scholars are scheduled to speak at the meeting:

Panels and discussion groups will be held throughout the day on 25 May, led by plenary speakers, invited guests, and AIBS board and committee members and staff. In addition, the annual meeting will be preceded on 23–24 May by an AIBS business meeting for the general membership, combined with a meeting of the AIBS Council of member societies and organizations, to discuss AIBS activities, plans, and priorities.

The early registration fee for individual AIBS members is $100; for nonmembers, $150 (which includes membership in AIBS and a subscription to BioScience for one year); for government employees, $90; for educators, $80; for students, $75.

Register now! Early registration ends 2 May, and attendance is limited to 200.

NEON Comings and Goings

NEON congratulates Jeffrey Goldman on his new position as director of program development at the Center for Embedded Network Sensing (CENS) at UCLA. Goldman joined AIBS in 2002 as project manager for the IBRCS (Infrastructure for Biology at Regional to Continental Scales) program, an NSF-supported AIBS initiative to facilitate the development of observational platforms, data collection and analysis, and database networking in biology. Under Goldman's leadership, the IBRCS meetings produced a series of white papers that established a framework for subsequent NEON planning.

“AIBS's loss is CENS's gain,” says AIBS Executive Director Richard O'Grady. “Jeff came straight out of graduate school to play a lead role at AIBS in getting NEON planning under way and initiating other projects in the AIBS Science Office that was itself created during Jeff's time here. He now leaves these projects and their further development in the able hands of other NEON and AIBS staff, many of whom he himself hired. His management skills and scientific vision will be missed at AIBS; we look forward to seeing him succeed in his new position at CENS.” In addition to his duties as AIBS science office director, Goldman ably guided the formation of the NEON Project Office (established in September 2004) and the formal stages of observatory design. As NEON project manager, he coordinated three planning conferences of the 160-member NEON Design Consortium Committee, and chaired frequent meetings of the senior management team and National Network Design Committee.

“Jeff has that most unusual capacity to establish respect and standing among his colleagues. He establishes leadership through his actions,” says NEON codirector Bruce Hayden. The project's other codirector, William Michener, summed up: “Jeff has been a tremendous motivating force in moving NEON forward. His professionalism in managing the NEON Project Office is exceeded only by his integrity, humor, and enthusiasm. We all wish him the best in his new role at UCLA.”

At CENS, Goldman will contribute to development of the next-generation sensor technologies and networks that are essential to Earth observational initiatives such as NEON. To the delight of his colleagues, he remains a co–principal investigator on the NEON project and a member of both the senior management team and the National Network Design Committee.

Meanwhile, NEON welcomes Amy Concilio as a science associate with the Project Office. Amy completed her master's degree in ecology at the University of Toledo in 2005 and her bachelor's in chemistry in 1999 at Providence College. Her research experience includes soil respiration response to prescribed burning and thinning in an old-growth, mixed-conifer forest, interannual variation in soil respiration, and arsenic contamination in soils and sediments of a mining-impacted site. She also has experience maintaining microclimate stations and sensors. Her initial focus with the Project Office has been to assist in defining the linkages between NEON science questions and instrumentation requirements.

New Guidelines for AIBS Student Chapter Program

The guidelines for the AIBS student chapter program have been revised to more effectively meet student chapter needs and to help them become strong representatives of AIBS on their campuses. The new guidelines outline AIBS's goals for the program and require all existing and new chapters to affirm that they will abide by the AIBS mission, goals, and code of ethics. The updated benefits and requirements are accompanied by additional information that will be helpful to individuals starting or maintaining their chapter's activities. All of the revised information is available online in the AIBS student chapter handbook.

Biology clubs and other student organizations on college campuses that serve to further the intellectual and professional interests of students in the biological sciences are encouraged to apply for the AIBS student chapter program. Contact Abe Parker (aparker@aibs.org; telephone: 202-628-1500, ext. 249) or visit the program Web site at  www.aibs.org/student-chapters for further information.

See Presentations from the 2005 NABT Symposium “Evolution and the Environment”

The Web site for the special symposium “Evolution and the Environment,” presented at the 2005 annual meeting of the National Association of Biology Teachers, has been updated. The site now includes downloadable PDFs of the speakers' slide presentations (author's permission is required for reuse) and suggested classroom resources and activities. AIBS cosponsored the conference, along with the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center and the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study. Please visit  www.aibs.org/special-symposia/2005-NABT.html.

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