********************Jobs******************** Science Teaching Fellow The Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EBIO), at the University of Colorado, Boulder, invites applicants for the position of Science Teaching Fellow to assist with enhancing teaching and learning in our undergraduate courses. Candidates should hold a doctoral degree in Biology, Biology Education or a related field and have excellent organizational, interpersonal communication, team building and collaboration skills. The candidate¢s primary interest and some experience should be in science education. Experience in developing active learning curricula and coaching educators is highly desirable. The successful candidate will collaborate with new faculty towards the following goals: formulate learning goals, develop an active learning-based curriculum that aligns with the learning goals, provide feedback on faculty teaching practices, and assess learning gains. The salary for this 1-year appointment will be competitive and commensurate with experience. Applicants should submit a single pdf containing their CV, a statement of teaching philosophy, and the names, phone numbers, and email addresses of three individuals who can serve as references to Andrew Martin at the following email address: am@colorado.edu. To ensure full consideration, applications must be received by June 30, 2013. We seek someone to fill this position prior to the beginning of the fall 2013 semester. The University of Colorado at Boulder is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Institution committed to cultural diversity and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Women and minorities encouraged to apply. We invite applications from qualified candidates who share our commitment to diversity. The University of Colorado conducts background checks on all final applicants being considered for employment. Andrew Martin Professor University of Colorado A mind once stretched by a new idea never regains its original dimensions. Andrew Martin ********************Other******************** Dear evoldir members, since there are few people that have replied about the Plant DNA kit E-Z 96of OMEGA, and the memebers that have used this kit have not obtained "excellent" results. Has anyone used the DNA extraction kit of Invisorb - DNA Plant HTS 96 kit/C?, and what about the amount and quality of the DNA extracted? Thank in advance, Miguel Angel -- Associate ResearcherDepartment of Molecular Biodiversity and DNA BankJardín Botánico Canario "Viera y Clavijo"Unidad Asociada al CSICCabildo de Gran Canaria canariensis750@hotmail.com ********************Other******************** The American Society of Naturalists (ASN) invites organizers of local or regional conferences specializing in the areas of ecology and evolution to apply for funds to enhance and support student participation in their meetings. Previous awards in the range of $500-$1500 have been used to support plenary speakers, provide student presentation awards, and reduce registration fees for ASN student members. Please send a short letter describing the intended uses of funds to the chair of the ASN Regional Liaison Committee, Mike Whitlock (whitlock@zoology.ubc.ca). Requests should be made at least a month before the registration opens for the meeting and include information about the expected size and focus of the meeting. Informal inquiries in advance of a written proposal are welcome. Michael Whitlock whitlock@zoology.ubc.ca Department of Zoology - University of British Columbia 6270 University Blvd, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4 CANADA phone: (604) 822-2069 FAX: (604) 822-2416 Michael Whitlock ********************PostDocs******************** A postdoc position is available to work with Joanna Masel (http://eebweb.arizona.edu/faculty/masel) at the University of Arizona in Tucson. A popular tourist destination surrounded on all four sides by mountainous national and state parks, Tucson is a vibrant city of nearly a million people with an attractive climate. The EEB department in Tucson was ranked in the top 10 by US News & World Report. The Masel group's main research interests are in robustness and evolvability, using a mixture of analytical theory, bioinformatic and simulation approaches. In previous work (Rajon & Masel 2011 PNAS), we explored the evolutionary consequences of the simple fact that all molecular processes, from transcription to protein interactions, are subject to errors. The evolution of error rates is bistable. One attractor represents a global proofreading solution that avoids making errors at many loci at once, the other a local robustness solution, where errors happen at high rates but the consequences of each error have evolved, one locus at a time, to be benign. Populations that evolved the local solution were much more evolvable, with selection acting on the consequences of errors acting as a playground to explore and prescreen possible future mutations. We are looking for a postdoc to extend this and related work (Rajon & Masel 2013 Genetics) to examine sexual as well as asexual populations, and to test the controversial hypothesis of the adaptive evolution of evolvability. In other words, might the high evolvability of local solutions cause their prevalence to increase? A strong quantitative background, good programming skills, and previous modeling experience are all required. A background in evolutionary theory is strongly preferred. Some interest in the molecular biology of transcription, translation, protein folding and binding, and the errors in each of these processes is an advantage. The position is available starting August 26, 2013, and is renewable, with funding secured for at least two years. Contact Joanna Masel at masel@u.arizona.edu for more information and/or to apply. masel@email.arizona.edu ********************Conferences******************** Program All sessions will be held at the Pyle Center (location info) An interactive map of all workshop events can be found here. Friday – 5/24 9:00am - Welcome to Soberfest; introductory remarks by Larry Shapiro 9:15am - 10:30am - Paradoxes of Consistency and (Revising) the Logic of Belief Branden Fitelson (Rutgers) Chair: John Basl (Bowling Green) 10:45am - 12:00pm - Recalibrating Morgan's Canon Eric Saidel (George Washington) Chair: John Koolage (Eastern Michigan) 1:45pm - 3:00pm - Embodied Cognition and Emotion Fred Adams (Delaware) Chair: Melinda Hogan (Kwantlen Polytechnic) 3:15pm - 4:30pm - Non-Causal Features of Causal Explanation Angela Potochnik (Cincinnati) Chair: Matt Kopec (Colorado) 4:45pm - 6:00pm - KEYNOTE - Golden Gettier: What We (Should Have) Learned Fred Dretske (Duke) Chair: Zac Ernst (Missouri) 6:30 - 9:00 Dinner at Steenbock's on Orchard http://steenbocksonorchard.com/ - be sure to let me (joel@joelvelasco.net) know if you prefer chicken or a vegetarian entree. There will also be a cash bar. Saturday – 5/25 9:00am - 10:15am - Is it Prudent to be an Evidentialist? Chris Stephens (University of British Columbia) Chair: Shannon Spaulding (Oklahoma State) 10:30am - 11:45am - Deconstructing the Future: Causation, Interventionist Thinking, and the non-Identity Problem Tom Bontly (Connecticut) Chair: Matt Barker (Concordia) 1:45pm - 3:00pm - Does the philosophy of biology have any use? Steven Orzack (The Fresh Pond Research Institute) Chair: Paul Anders (Mount Marty) 3:15pm - 4:30pm - What is Science? Popper and Evolutionary Theory Mehmet Elgin (MuÄŸla University, Turkey) Chair: Deborah Mower (Youngstown) 4:45pm - 6:00pm – KEYNOTE - Which of the many things that are causes of a sensory impression is the one being perceived? Denny Stampe (University of Wisconsin) Chair: Greg Novack (Wayne State) 6:30 - 9:00 Dinner at Porta Bella restaurant http://www.portabellarestaurant. biz/ - This will be appetizers and a cash bar. After dinner: Malcolm Forster has invited everyone to come to his apartment for an after dinner party Saturday night. The address is 620 N Carroll St, Apt 713. This is about a 10 minute walk from Porta Bella (about about the same back to the Lowell Center). program selection committee: Marc Ereshefsky, University of Calgary Larry Shapiro, University of Wisconsin Joel Velasco, California Institute of Technology organizing committee: Joel Velasco Marc Ereshefsky Denis Walsh André Ariew Branden Fitelson Larry Shapiro Daniel Hausman Malcolm Forster orzack ********************Conferences******************** Mathematics for an evolving biodiversity September 16-20, 2013 CRM, Montréal (Canada) *EARLY REGISTRATION AND ABSTRACT SUBMISSION DEADLINE EXTENDED TO JUNE 15TH* **Contributed talks and posters are welcome** http://www.crm.umontreal.ca/2013/Biodiversity13/index_e.php Hosted by the Center for Mathematical Research in Montréal (Canada), in the context of MATH FOR PLANET EARTH YEAR 2013 Organizers : Jonathan Davies (McGill), Amaury Lambert (UPMC Univ Paris 6 and Collège de France), Nicolas Lartillot (Montréal) List of invited speakers Graham Bell (McGill University) Troy Day (Queen's University) Rampal S. Etienne (University of Groningen) Régis Ferrière (Université Pierre et Marie Curie (Paris 6)) Sergey Gavrilets (University of Tennessee) Emma Goldberg (University of Illinois) Luke Harmon (University of Idaho) Stephen Hubbell (UCLA) Steven Kembel (UQAM) Mark McPeek (Dartmouth College) Arne Mooers (Simon Fraser University) Mark Pagel (University of Reading) Todd Parsons (Univ. Pierre et Marie Curie (Paris 6)) Pedro Peres-Neto (UQAM) Daniel Rabosky (University of Michigan) Richard Ree (Field Museum of Natural History) Liam Revell (University of Massachusetts Boston) James Rosindell (Imperial College) Mike Steel (University of Canterbury) Chi Tran (Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille) John Wiens (University of Arizona) Conference agenda This workshop will provide an overview of recent theoretical and methodological developments for modeling the complex evolutionary dynamics that have shaped the structure of contemporary biodiversity. Theoretical work at the interface between ecology and evolutionary studies will be presented, as well as its applications to empirical data. This will include mathematical and probabilistic modeling, statistical methodologies, and new insights obtained from biological data. Accordingly, the workshop will gather a variety of participants within the fields of probability, statistics, ecology and evolutionary biology, and working on the following themes: - Likelihood-based phylogenetic tests of macroevolutionary hypotheses, based on models of diversification patterns incorporating density dependence, heterogeneity among lineages and species selection effects, as well as various models of trait evolution. - Ecophylogenetics, and theories such as the neutral theory of biodiversity, for deriving macroevolutionary models of species distribution and turnover from first principles of community ecology. - Adaptive dynamics and other models of evolving biodiversity, for linking micro-evolution and adaptation with global ecological patterns. - Probabilistic models of phylogeography, and their role in our understanding of biodiversity gradients. You might also be interested in the workshop on 'Mathematics and Sequence Evolution: Biological Models and Application', organized by Mathieu Blanchette (McGill) and Hervé Philippe (Montréal), which will take place the following week, September 23-27 2013, in Montréal, also in the context of the thematic semester on biodiversity and evolution organized by the Center for Mathematical Research: . You may want to make the most of your time in Montréal and attend both events. nicolas.lartillot@umontreal.ca