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Phylogenetics Summer of Code

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PHYLOINFORMATICS SUMMER OF CODE 2011

http://informatics.nescent.org/wiki/Phyloinformatics_Summer_of_Code_2011

The Phyloinformatics Summer of Code program provides a unique opportunity for undergraduate, masters, and PhD students to obtain hands-on experience writing and extending open-source software for evolutionary informatics under the mentorship of experienced developers from around the world. The program is the participation of the US National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent) as a mentoring organization in the Google Summer of Code(tm) (http://code.google.com/soc/). EEB faculty member Brian O’Meara is one of the mentors of this program.

Students in the program will receive a stipend from Google (and possibly more importantly, a T-shirt solely available to successful participants), and may work from their home, or home institution, for the duration of the 3 month program. Each student will have at least one dedicated mentor to show them the ropes and help them complete their project.

NESCent is particularly targeting students interested in both evolutionary biology and software development. Initial project ideas are listed on the website. These range from visualizing viral epidemics to 3D protein structure evolution, rich annotation for TreeBASE content, exposing phenotype observations to the Encyclopedia of Life, to enhancing R packages for phylogenetic analysis. All project ideas are flexible and many can be adjusted in scope to match the skills of the student. We also welcome novel project ideas that dovetail with student interests.

TO APPLY: Apply online at the Google Summer of Code website (http://socghop.appspot.com/), where you will also find GSoC program rules and eligibility requirements. Each organization has a slightly different application format, and ours is at http://bit.ly/PhyloSoC2011-apptemplate. The 12-day application period for students opens on Monday, March 28th, and runs through Friday, April 8th, 2011.

INQUIRIES: phylosoc {at} nescent {dot} org. We strongly encourage all interested students to get in touch with us with their ideas as early on as possible. Working closely with potential mentors to develop your project proposal greatly increases your chance for acceptance. Do not underestimate the amount of time it takes to develop a competitive proposal.

2011 NESCent Phyloinformatics Summer of Code:
http://informatics.nescent.org/wiki/Phyloinformatics_Summer_of_Code_2011

Google Summer of Code FAQ:
http://socghop.appspot.com/document/show/gsoc_program/google/gsoc2011/faqs

Phyloseminar on “Making comparative methods as easy as ABC”

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Faculty member Brian O’Meara is giving a phyloseminar on March 30 at 2 pm eastern on “Making comparative methods as easy as ABC” based on work by him and postdoc Barb Banbury. A phyloseminar is a seminar delivered online virtually — people around the world can log in to watch and ask questions. For more information, see http://phyloseminar.org/.

Update: The seminar is over. You can see a recording at http://phyloseminar.org/recorded.html and the slides at http://brianomeara.info/.

EEB Newsletter

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The first issue of the new EEB newsletter has now appeared. You can download the PDF or email eebnews@utk.edu for more information.

EEB Newsletter

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The first issue of the new EEB newsletter has now appeared. You can download the PDF or email eebnews@utk.edu for more information.

UT EEB undergraduate teaches science on the National Mall

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UTK EEB undergraduate Sarah Jeanne Wood recently participated in a 2-day Science Expo on the National Mall, where half a million people came to learn about science and engineering. Sarah presented on her research on intraspecific variation in Solidago, done in collaboration with postdoc Lara Souza and EEB assistant professor Aimée Classen. For a detailed story, please see this article from UTK’s Arts and Sciences magazine, Higher Ground.

UT EEB undergraduate teaches science on the National Mall

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UTK EEB undergraduate Sarah Jeanne Wood recently participated in a 2-day Science Expo on the National Mall, where half a million people came to learn about science and engineering. Sarah presented on her research on intraspecific variation in Solidago, done in collaboration with postdoc Lara Souza and EEB assistant professor Aimée Classen. For a detailed story, please see this article from UTK’s Arts and Sciences magazine, Higher Ground.

REU supplement to Matheny grant

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Brandon Matheny has gotten a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) grant from the NSF for his existing grant for a revision of Australian species of Inocybaceae. Quoting from the NSF REU site, “The Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program supports active research participation by undergraduate students in any of the areas of research funded by the National Science Foundation. REU projects involve students in meaningful ways in ongoing research programs or in research projects specifically designed for the REU program.”