July 2015 - tdwg - lists.tdwg.org

In Memoriam Dr Richard Pankhurst
by Mergen Patricia 14 Dec '15

14 Dec '15

Dear Colleagues, On behalf of TDWG we are very sorry to inform you that Richard John Pankhurst passed away on Tuesday 26 March after fighting oesophageal cancer for many years. He was a very important contributer and friend of TDWG, as can be judged from his short CV from the BioCISE directory: Dr Richard Pankhurst began his career in computing in the computer section at CERN, Geneva in 1963, and moving back to Cambridge to work on Computer-Aided Design in 1966. In 1971 he moved to the Botany School, Cambridge to begin work on his PANKEY programs for identification and key construction. This was continued at the Botany department of the Natural History Museum from 1974 until 1991, where he was for many years curator of the British herbarium, and also worked on the Flora Meso-Americana. "Biological Identification", 1978, was the first textbook on computer methods in identification. A new version of this book was published by C.U.P in 1991. Also published in that year was the Flora of the Outer Hebrides. With over 50 publications of refereed papers and books in the fields of taxonomic computing he has made major contributions to these fields. Dr. Pankhurst has been very active recently in programming and managing botanical databases (Flora Europaea, BSBI database and PANDORA) and systems with images. He was appointed Principal Scientific Officer at the RGB Edinburgh in 1991. Dr. Pankhurst served on various committees of British and international organizations, among others. Botanical Society of the British Isles, Committee for Scotland and Database Committee. Botanical Society of Scotland, Council. Taxonomic Databases Working Group, convener of Descriptors Group. International Organisation for Plant Information, co-convener of Information Systems Committee, Checklist Committee. Dr. Pankhurst was the head of the Department of Taxonomic Computing at RGBE. After his official retirement, he compiled a large database of the Rose family. His work on recording the wild flowers of the Outer Hebrides took him frequently to these remote islands on behalf of the Botanical Society of the British Isles. His interest in Taraxacum (dandelions) was acknowledged when a species found only on St. Kilda was named *Taraxacum pankhurstianum*. In Richard, not only a very important scientist was lost to our community, but also a very pleasant collaborator and friend . <patricia.mergen(a)africamuseum.be> Dr. Patricia Mergen (General Secretary of TDWG, on behalf of the Executive Committee) Head of Biodiversity Information and Cybertaxonomy Royal Museum for Central Africa Leuvensesteenweg 13 B-3080 Tervuren Belgium + 32 2 769 5 *626* patricia.mergen(a)africamuseum.be

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SYNTHESYS: Funding available for short research visits - New call deadline
by Synthesys Alerts 31 Jul '15

31 Jul '15

Dear TDWG, SYNTHESYS3 has now opened its 3rd Access call, and we would greatly appreciate your help in spreading the word. Please forward the email below and/or the attachment to any EU-based colleagues who may be interested in applying. For more information on SYNTHESYS, please visit www.synthesys.info<http://www.synthesys.info> If you have any queries about the project, please email synthesys(a)nhm.ac.uk<mailto:synthesys@nhm.ac.uk> Kind regards, Katherine Dixey SYNTHESYS Administrator | Natural History Museum, London SYNTHESYS is back - funding available for short research visits New Call Deadline: 15th October, 2015 (17:00 UK time). The SYNTHESYS Office is pleased to announce the third call for applications of the SYNTHESYS3 project under the current European Commission's FPVII European-funded Integrating Activities funding scheme. SYNTHESYS Access funding is available to provide scientists (Users) based in European Member, Associate and Candidate States to undertake short visits to utilise the infrastructure (comprising the collections, staff expertise and analytical facilities) at one of the 18 partner institutions (see full list below) for the purposes of their research. This is the third of four annual calls for applications during the project's four-year duration. Access Call 3 will officially open for applications on 16th July 2015. The Call 3 deadline will be 17:00 (UK time) Thursday 15th October, 2015 and awarded visits must take place within 2016 (calendar year). APPLY HERE<http://www.synthesys.info/access/> Taxonomic Access Facilities (TAFs) The 18 partner institutions are organised into 11 national TAFs. TAF Users will be hosted by a TAF staff member (Host). The 11 TAFs represent an unparalleled resource for taxonomic research offering: * Collections amounting to over 390 million natural history specimens, including 3.3 million type specimens * Internationally renowned taxonomic and systematic skill base * Facilities including: molecular, imaging and chemical analysis * New - Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung and State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart are now offering Access as part of DE-TAF Proposals for funding are welcomed from high-calibre scientists in any technical discipline seeking access for short-term research visits (average duration 15 days). SYNTHESYS is able to meet the Users' costs for: * Research costs (bench fees and laboratory consumables) * International travel & local accommodation while based at the TAF * A per diem contribution towards living costs See www.synthesys.info<http://www.synthesys.info> for more information or contact synthesys(a)nhm.ac.uk<mailto:synthesys@nhm.ac.uk> ----------------------------------------------------------- SYNTHESYS TAFs: AT-TAF Naturhistorisches Museum, Wien; BE-TAF Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences; Royal Museum of Central Africa; CZ-TAF Národní Muzeum, Praha; DE-TAF Museum für Naturkunde; Botanischer Garten und Botanisches Museum; Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung **NEW** State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart **NEW** ES-TAF Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales & Real Jardín Botánico Naturales (CSIC); DK-TAF The Natural History Museum of Denmark; FR-TAF Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle; GB-TAF Natural History Museum, London; Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh; HU-TAF Hungarian Natural History Museum; NL-TAF Naturalis Biodiversity Center; *major collections closure for 2 years from August 2016 - Call 3 is last chance to apply for access under SYNTHESYS - see www.synthesys.info/access<http://www.synthesys.info/access> for details SE-TAF Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet. Eligibility: The SYNTHESYS TAFs are inviting Access applications from scientists working in the Member States of the EU: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark (including Greenland), Estonia, Finland, France (including Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guyane, La Réunion), Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom. Plus the Associated Countries of the EU: Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Faroe Islands, FYR Macedonia, Iceland, Israel, Liechtenstein, Montenegro, Norway, Republic of Moldova Republic of Serbia, Switzerland and Turkey. *If you no longer wish to receive updates from SYNTHESYS please email synthesys(a)nhm.ac.uk<mailto:synthesys@nhm.ac.uk> with the message 'No Alerts' and we will remove you from the mailing list.*

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Biodiversity Informatics Programmer with Canadensys
by Shorthouse, David 28 Jul '15

28 Jul '15

Dear all, We just posted an announcement for a Biodiversity Informatics Programmer at http://www.canadensys.net/2015/biodiversity-informatics-programmer. The position is open to Canadians and evaluations will begin August 13, 2015. Thanks, David P. Shorthouse Biodiversity Informatics Manager / Canadensys Université de Montréal

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