Dear ESA Colleagues: I am co-organizer (with John Avise and Steve Hubbell) of the colloquium mentioned below. We believe that the colloquium will be of interest to many of your ESA members.
Would it be possible to post an ad or link on the ESA website or otherwise inform your membership? I will appreciate whatever help you could give in this matter. With best wishes, Francisco Ayala ------------------------------------ Dear Colleague: =20 This is to invite you to attend an Arthur M. Sackler colloquium, In the Light of Evolution II: Biodiversity and Extinction, sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences. The Colloquium will be December 6-8, 2007, at the Beckman Center of the National Academies of Sciences and Engineering in Irvine, California. A preliminary program can be viewed at www.nasonline.org/Sackler_biodiversity_program. =20 Darwin's experience as a natural historian contributed greatly to his explanation of evolution by natural selection, which stands as one of the grand intellectual achievements in the history of science. The Earth's exuberant biodiversity is a wellspring for scientific curiosity and discovery about nature's workings. Bringing together leading researchers and students interested in biodiversity from evolutionary as well as ecological perspectives, this colloquium seeks to synthesize recent discoveries and concepts regarding the global abundance and distribution of biodiversity, and to compare the biodiversity patterns to conditions in the near and distant evolutionary past, as well as to those plausible in the near-term future. =20 Attendance at the Colloquium is limited to 250 registered individuals. To facilitate the participation of younger scientists, we request that you extend this invitation to interested graduate students and postdocs. The NAS has provided funds to supplement the expenses of participating graduate students and postdocs up to $125 for hotel costs and up to $300 for air travel. Awards will be granted with priority based exclusively on the order in which requests (accompanied by the registration fee) are received. Notification of the award will be made shortly after receiving the application but the awards will be paid after the Colloquium, upon documentation of qualifying expenses. =20 Please register on the NAS website www.nasonline.org/Sackler_biodiversity. Registrations will be accepted only when the registration fee is included and in the order in which they are received. The registration fee is $350, which includes the cost of meals, reception, and banquet. However, an early registration fee of $250 (also including meals, reception, and banquet) is available to those posting their registration by November 1, 2007. A reduced all-inclusive registration fee of $150 is offered to Graduate Students and Postdocs who register by November 1, 2007. =20 After submitting your online registration form and payment, you will receive an email confirmation including details for reserving a room at the Hyatt Regency Newport Beach at the discounted rate of $118 per night. Please do not call the hotel directly for room reservations as the discounted rate is only available through the Academy's travel agency. After November 1, 2006, we cannot guarantee that a hotel room will be available. Shuttle bus service between the hotel and the Beckman Center will be provided free of charge at specified times. =20 Sincerely yours, John C. Avise, Stephen P. Hubbell and Francisco J. Ayala Colloquium Organizing Committee =20 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Francisco J. Ayala 2001 National Medal of Science Laureate University Professor Donald Bren Professor of Biological Sciences University of California, Irvine Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology 321 Steinhaus Hall Irvine, CA 92697-2525, USA tel: +1-949-824-8293 fax: +1-949-824-2474 [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.faculty.uci.edu/profile.cfm?faculty_id=3D2134
