July 2005 - tdwg - lists.tdwg.org

SYNTHESYS Third Call
by Gemma Robinson (via Adrian Rissone) 20 Jul '05

20 Jul '05

Dear Scientist, Next Deadline: 16 September 2005 The SYNTHESYS Office is pleased to announce the Third call for proposals under the European Commission's FPVI European-funded Integrated Infrastructure Initiative. SYNTHESYS Project funding is available to provide scientists (Users) based in European Member and Associated States to undertake short visits to utilize the infrastructure (namely the collections, staff expertise and analytical facilities) at one of the 20 partner institutions (see full list below) for the purposes of their research. The 20 partner institutions are organised into 11 national TAxonomic Facilities (TAFs). TAF Users will be hosted by a TAF staff member. The 11 TAF institutions represent an unparalleled resource for taxonomic research offering: Collections amounting to over 337 million natural history specimens, including 3.3 million type specimens. Internationally renowned taxonomic and systematic skill base· Chemical analysis, molecular and imaging facilities. Proposals will be welcomed from high calibre researchers seeking access for short-term visits. SYNTHESYS is able to meet the Users' costs for: · Research costs* · International travel · Local accommodation whilst based at the TAF · A per diem to contribute towards living costs * Research related costs including: bench fees and consumables (including molecular biology at some TAFs). See www.synthesys.info for more information or contact synthesys(a)nhm.ac.uk TAF visits will be scheduled from December 2004 until January 2009. SYNTHESYS is a five-year project comprising two parts which together aim to create an integrated European infrastructure for researchers in the natural sciences. SYNTHESYS Partners: GB-TAF Natural History Museum, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. ES-TAF Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Real Jardín Botánico Naturales. DK-TAF The Natural History Museum of Denmark. FR-TAF Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle. SE-TAF Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet. NL-TAF University van Amsterdam, Nationaal Herbarium Nederland, Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures, National Natural History Museum Naturalis. DE-TAF Museum fur Naturkunde, Botanischer Garten und Botanisches Museum. AT-TAF Naturhistorisches Museum, Wien. HU-TAF Hungarian Natural History Museum. PL-TAF Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences. BE-TAF Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Koninklijik Museum voor Midden-Afrika, National Botanic Garden of Belgium. 1 The SYNTHESYS Partners are inviting applications from researchers based in the Member States of the EU: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom plus the Associated Countries of the EU: Switzerland, Iceland, Israel, Liechtenstein, Norway and Candidate Countries of the EU Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey. Contact: Gemma Robinson (gemma.robinson(a)nhm.ac.uk) SYNTHESYS Administrator Natural History Museum Cromwell Road London SW7 5BD United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)20 7942 6075 Fax: +44 (0)20 7942 5841 www.synthesys.info

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TDWG Subgroup: Natural Collections Descriptions (NCD)
by Neil Thomson 10 Jul '05

10 Jul '05

Dear All, At the 2004 TDWG meeting in Christchurch, a new subgroup was formed to develop the BioCASE collections description standard from dealing only with collections of specimens and observations data to dealing with any type of collection of natural history related material. Such collections include bibliographic, archival and artwork collections and especially mixed collections formed during expeditions and the voyages of discovery. Background information on NCD, along with the uses of collections descriptions and the latest version of the XML Schema (v 0.32) may be found at: http://www.tdwg.org/NCD/TDWG_NCD_Subgroup.htm [note underscores] A number of TDWG'ers expressed interest in helping with the development of NCD as one of the suite of data standards being produced for TDWG. There will be a subgroup meeting at this year's TDWG meeting for those of you that are able to attend and to which you will be very welcome. If you are interested in helping with NCD but have not already registered your interest or are unable to attend the St Petersburg meeting, please let me know and I will add your email address to main NCD list. All comments are welcome, With thanks, Neil ------- Neil Thomson Head of Data & Digital Systems The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD Tel: +44 (0)20 7942 5294, Fax: +44 (0)20 7942 5559, Email: n.thomson(a)nhm.ac.uk http://www.nhm.ac.uk

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TDWG 2005 - book your hotel to get your visa voucher!
by Adrian Rissone 05 Jul '05

05 Jul '05

TDWG 2005 St. PETERSBURG Apologies for yet another message from me, and for cross posting. We note that there are several people who have expressed interest in attending the TDWG meeting in St. Petersburg (11-18 September 2005) who have not yet booked a room through the recommended hotel management. Of course, it is possible that you have booked elsewhere but if you intend to visit St. Petersburg staying in *any* hotel and have not yet booked it is ESSENTIAL that you book immediately to give enough time for the hotel to issue the required voucher and tourist invitation for you to get your visa to enter the Russian Federation. The recommended deadline for hotel booking is 10 July. We cannot emphasise too strongly how important it is to follow this advice. Regards, Adrian Rissone TDWG 2005 Meeting Coordinator

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TDWG 2005 (11-18 September 2005) - Please Register now
by Adrian Rissone 05 Jul '05

05 Jul '05

TAXONOMIC DATABASES WORKING GROUP (TDWG) Annual Meeting 11-18 September 2005 St.Petersburg, Russian Federation Apologies for cross-posting. The on-line registration site for the meeting is active now at: <http://www.regonline.com/25832>http://www.regonline.com/25832 IMPORTANT: Please register as soon as possible. This will help us plan the meeting and organise the venue. If possible, please pay on-line by credit card. Payment in cash or by credit card at the venue is possible but causes an additional administrative burden on the Local Organiser and we respectfully ask that you avoid this method of payment. Please note that payment for the Cultural Excursion (Wed 13 September) is NOT possible on the Registration site. Instructions on how to book a place on the Cultural Excursion are given at: http://www.tdwg.org/2005meet/TDWG_2005_Excursion.html ----------------------------------------------------- Full information about the meeting is available here: http://www.tdwg.org/2005meet/TDWG_2005_Intro.html General information about the TDWG is here: http://www.tdwg.org Regards, Adrian Rissone Secretary and Scientific Porgramme Coordinator Taxonomic Databases Working Group

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