SICB newsletter 04-2004

DSEB should have a strong showing at the San Diego meeting in January, but several important changes will confront the division. First Don Swiderski will step down as Program Officer and be replaced by Michele "Nish" Nishiguchi. For those of you that don't know, PO is hands down the most labor-intensive office and the office that can most directly shape the role of the division at annual meetings. Don has done a fabulous job representing DSEB, and we wish Nish all the best in taking over. However, apparently Don did not get his fill as he will continue serve the division as the Chair-elect. Scott Nichols will also step down as the student/postdoc rep. His efforts have been appreciated as well.

At the business meeting we will discuss several by-laws changes (click here for PDF file with by-law changes). Such votes require a quorum. Interestingly, while several DSEB members attend the meetings, attendance at the business meetings has been lack luster. This is a great opportunity for more junior researchers to get involved. We also want to discuss the future of the Phylogenetics for Dummies workshop. WE NEED YOUR INPUT AT THE BUSINESS MEETING! See ya there.

Message from the Program Officer

Don Swiderski

San Diego 05 should be another fine meeting; we have nearly as many abstracts as last year and another great location - so no excuses for slipping away to Tijuana or lolling around on the beach.

DSEB is one of several divisions supporting "Terminal Addition", on the evolution and development of bilaterians, organized by Nigel Hughes and Dave Jacobs. Mark Webster will be addressing related issues in this year's Phylogenetics for Dummies workshop. Other fine symposia supported by DSEB are "Worm Net," on the evolution and development of annelids and organized by Ken Halanych, and "Vertebrate Dentition," on the evolution and development of teeth and organized by Moya Smith.

We will also have 7 students competing for the division's Best Student Paper award at the meeting. We need volunteers to judge these presentations; if you are a member of DSEB and not a student, and are willing to sacrifice a little bit of time for this important program, please contact me at dlswider@umich.edu.

As you prepare for the meeting, consider topics you would like to have as the focus of a symposium and email your ideas to me. Your suggestion will not be automatically treated as an offer to organize said symposium, but I won't stop anyone from volunteering. And while you're thinking of such things, if you submitted an abstract and feel that important key words or topics in the areas of systematics and evolution were missing from the lists, send those to me as well.

Message from the Secretary

Pat Reynolds

As many of you now know, Don Swiderski was elected as Chair-elect, and Michele "Nish" Nishiguchi as Program Officer, of the Division. Congratulations to them and thanks to all our candidates. Please consider serving the division as an officer, and don't feel shy or self-promoting in expressing your interest in standing for election; we need candidates!

As I wrote in the Spring newsletter, we and the other divisions have been charged with revision of our bylaws, and the proposed changes were placed online at that time. Many of the proposed changes aim for consistency across divisions in offices, terms, and other aspects of divisional business. Since the Spring newsletter, we have made a minor modification to the proposed bylaws; SICB Program Officers agreed in September to eliminate division affiliation requirements for the Best Student Paper awards, and to limit the number of times a particular individual can win a Best Student Paper award in the Society to one for a poster and one for an oral presentation. Our proposed bylaws now reflect this.

Please review the proposed changes. Email any comments to me <preynold@hamilton.edu> or any of the Officers, and bring your thoughts to the Divisional Business Meeting in San Diego where we will discuss them and vote on their adoption. Please come to the meeting to discuss the changes even if you don't have an opportunity to consider them at length beforehand; we need a quorum to vote on these changes, and we need to complete this work (and demonstrate that we can do so!).

I look forward to meeting many of you again in San Diego!

Upcoming Meetings of Interest to the Division

Evolution 2005 will be a jointly sponsored conference of the Society for the Study of Evolution, the Society of Systematic Biologists, and the American Society of Naturalists. It will be held June 10-14, 2005 at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and hosted by the Institute of Arctic Biology and the University of Alaska Museum of the North. Further information at: http://www.evolution05.uaf.edu/

Link to officer list on DSEB page

a href="index.html">SICB
			Division of Systematic and Evolutionary Biology (DSEB): 2004 Fall Newsletter In this newsletter: Message from the Chair Message from the Program Officer Message from the Secretary Upcoming Meetings Bylaw Changes (.pdf) Message from the Chair Ken Halanych DSEB should have a strong showing at the San Diego meeting in January, but several important changes will confront the division. First Don Swiderski will step down as Program Officer and be replaced by Michele "Nish" Nishiguchi. For those of you that don't know, PO is hands down the most labor-intensive office and the office that can most directly shape the role of the division at annual meetings. Don has done a fabulous job representing DSEB, and we wish Nish all the best in taking over. However, apparently Don did not get his fill as he will continue serve the division as the Chair-elect. Scott Nichols will also step down as the student/postdoc rep. His efforts have been appreciated as well. At the business meeting we will discuss several by-laws changes (click here for PDF file with by-law changes). Such votes require a quorum. Interestingly, while several DSEB members attend the meetings, attendance at the business meetings has been lack luster. This is a great opportunity for more junior researchers to get involved. We also want to discuss the future of the Phylogenetics for Dummies workshop. WE NEED YOUR INPUT AT THE BUSINESS MEETING! See ya there. Message from the Program Officer Don Swiderski San Diego 05 should be another fine meeting; we have nearly as many abstracts as last year and another great location - so no excuses for slipping away to Tijuana or lolling around on the beach. DSEB is one of several divisions supporting "Terminal Addition", on the evolution and development of bilaterians, organized by Nigel Hughes and Dave Jacobs. Mark Webster will be addressing related issues in this year's Phylogenetics for Dummies workshop. Other fine symposia supported by DSEB are "Worm Net," on the evolution and development of annelids and organized by Ken Halanych, and "Vertebrate Dentition," on the evolution and development of teeth and organized by Moya Smith. We will also have 7 students competing for the division's Best Student Paper award at the meeting. We need volunteers to judge these presentations; if you are a member of DSEB and not a student, and are willing to sacrifice a little bit of time for this important program, please contact me at dlswider@umich.edu. As you prepare for the meeting, consider topics you would like to have as the focus of a symposium and email your ideas to me. Your suggestion will not be automatically treated as an offer to organize said symposium, but I won't stop anyone from volunteering. And while you're thinking of such things, if you submitted an abstract and feel that important key words or topics in the areas of systematics and evolution were missing from the lists, send those to me as well. Message from the Secretary Pat Reynolds As many of you now know, Don Swiderski was elected as Chair-elect, and Michele "Nish" Nishiguchi as Program Officer, of the Division. Congratulations to them and thanks to all our candidates. Please consider serving the division as an officer, and don't feel shy or self-promoting in expressing your interest in standing for election; we need candidates! As I wrote in the Spring newsletter, we and the other divisions have been charged with revision of our bylaws, and the proposed changes were placed online at that time. Many of the proposed changes aim for consistency across divisions in offices, terms, and other aspects of divisional business. Since the Spring newsletter, we have made a minor modification to the proposed bylaws; SICB Program Officers agreed in September to eliminate division affiliation requirements for the Best Student Paper awards, and to limit the number of times a particular individual can win a Best Student Paper award in the Society to one for a poster and one for an oral presentation. Our proposed bylaws now reflect this. Please review the proposed changes. Email any comments to me <preynold@hamilton.edu> or any of the Officers, and bring your thoughts to the Divisional Business Meeting in San Diego where we will discuss them and vote on their adoption. Please come to the meeting to discuss the changes even if you don't have an opportunity to consider them at length beforehand; we need a quorum to vote on these changes, and we need to complete this work (and demonstrate that we can do so!). I look forward to meeting many of you again in San Diego! Upcoming Meetings of Interest to the Division Evolution 2005 will be a jointly sponsored conference of the Society for the Study of Evolution, the Society of Systematic Biologists, and the American Society of Naturalists. It will be held June 10-14, 2005 at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and hosted by the Institute of Arctic Biology and the University of Alaska Museum of the North. Further information at: http://www.evolution05.uaf.edu/ Link to officer list on DSEB page

Division of Systematic and Evolutionary Biology (DSEB): 2004 Fall Newsletter