December 2013 - 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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BioVeL Training Workshops Autumn 2013
by Jong, Yde de 19 Mar '14

19 Mar '14

[cid:_2_0D2267A80D226240004E96E980257BF0] BioVeL, a virtual laboratory for biodiversity research data, is offering two training workshops «Introduction to workflows for taxonomic refinement, biogeographic analysis, and species distribution modelling» November 26-27, 2013, Cardiff University, UK Description of the workshop and registration<http://frb.eole-emailing.net/l.php?q=C7R0bdUyZhX7O4KA8AcP&l=mhEt9SDFpiH4jmM…> «Building workflows with Taverna workbench» December 5-6, 2013, Manchester, UK Description of the workshop and registration<http://frb.eole-emailing.net/l.php?q=C7R0bdUyZhX7O4KA8AcP&l=qx%2B%2F%2F2hFK…> Note that these training workshops are free to attend but registration is required. The number of participants is limited. For further information, please write contact(a)biovel.eu<mailto:contact@biovel.eu>. More information on BioVeL: www.biovel.eu<http://frb.eole-emailing.net/l.php?q=C7R0bdUyZhX7O4KA8AcP&l=ai9CNhKZGxdfg76…> BioVeL is funded by the European Commission 7th Framework Programme (FP7) as part of its e-Infrastructures activity (Grant no. 283359).

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Announcement of TDWG 2014 conference and Call for Symposia and Workshops is open.
by Mergen Patricia 19 Dec '13

19 Dec '13

Dear all We are happy to announce the 2014 TDWG annual conference and the opening of the call for Symposia and Workshops. The 2014 TDWG Conference will be held 3-7 November at the Nairobi Crowne Plaza Hotel ( http://www.ihg.com/crowneplaza/hotels/us/en/nairobi/nbocp/hoteldetail). Attendees will have the option of choosing accommodations at several other hotels within a short distance of the Crowne Plaza. Registration details will be provided early in 2014. The meeting website is under construction and will be available soon at http://www.tdwg.org/conference2014.<http://conference2014.>For planing your journey, note that it is foreseen to have trainings the week before the TDWG conference and that post conference excursions will be suggested for the week after the conference. Call for Symposia and Workshops open until January 15th 2014 at : www.tdwg.org/homepage-news-item/article/tdwg-conference-2014-call-for-sympo… We look forward to read your proposals and to see you next November in Nairobi. With my best wishes for end of year celebrations. Patricia Mergen General Secretary of TDWG on behalf of the Executive committee secretary(a)tdwg.org

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full-time position in Museum Informatics
by pdpolly 17 Dec '13

17 Dec '13

A final reminder… ------------------------------------- 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(a)indiana.edu). Indiana University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer; women and minorities are especially encouraged to apply. Review of applications will begin December 20, 2013. P. David Polly Professor, Geological Sciences Adjunct, Anthropology and Biology Director, Center for Biological Research Collections Indiana University 1001 E. 10th Street Bloomington, IN 47405-1405 pdpolly(a)indiana.edu +1 (812) 855-7994 http://mypage.iu.edu/~pdpolly/

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Full-time position in Museum Informatics
by pdpolly 10 Dec '13

10 Dec '13

------------------------------------- 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(a)indiana.edu). Indiana University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer; women and minorities are especially encouraged to apply. Review of applications will begin December 20, 2013. P. David Polly Professor, Geological Sciences Adjunct, Anthropology and Biology Director, Center for Biological Research Collections Indiana University 1001 E. 10th Street Bloomington, IN 47405-1405 pdpolly(a)indiana.edu +1 (812) 855-7994 http://mypage.iu.edu/~pdpolly/

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