Phylogenies! Hacking! Tucson in January!
An implicit promise of the Tree of Life project is that, ultimately,
expert knowledge of species phylogeny will be accessible and usable by
everybody. In other words, we will all be able to get the species trees
we need, in a useable form, when we need them. The Phylotastic project
aims to make that vision a reality, by developing a loosely coupled
system of components that, in response to a user’s query (a list of taxa
plus conditions), will rectify names, find suitable source trees, prune
and graft to get the right species, estimate branch lengths, and return
the results with metadata on sources and methods.
In June 2012, the HIP (Hackathons, Interoperability, Phylogenies)
working group of NESCent staged a hackathon
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackathon) to prototype components of a
Phylotastic system, and implement demos to show their potential. Thanks
to 25 participants who responded to an open call (just like this one),
that hackathon was an extraordinary success (see http://phylotastic.org/).
Now we are gearing up for a second hackathon, to take another step
toward providing computable, convenient, credible access to the Tree of
Life. We aim to recruit a diverse group of participants, including
students, faculty, postdocs, and staff of both genders and from
different backgrounds. Only some of the seats at the hackathon will be
filled by expert hackers who spend their time coding. We also need folks
who can:
* Provide knowledge of workflows and downstream uses of trees
* Design user interfaces
* Test software
* Make screencasts, develop tutorials, and document user experiences
Applications are now being accepted to Phylotastic 2, which will take
place January 28th, 2013 to February 1st, 2013 at the BIO5 facility in
warm and sunny Tucson, AZ (http://bio5.arizona.edu/about-bio5).
Information on how to apply is provided below. Partial support (and, if
funds allow, full support) for travel, food and lodging will be
available to each successful applicant who indicates need. We
particularly welcome applications from women and members of
underrepresented groups.
To understand how you might be able to contribute, review the slideshow
(ppt format, http://bit.ly/RWRgIc, or PDF format, http://bit.ly/POaoci),
consult the web site (phylotastic.org) or contact a member of the HIP
leadership team (listed below).
Sincerely,
The HIP (Hackathons, Interoperability and Phylogenies) Leadership Team
HOW TO APPLY
Before 16 November, 2012 at midnight, EST, fill out the online form here
http://tinyurl.com/PhyloTastic2.
Note that the application form asks you to describe how you can
contribute to Phylotastic. Remember that we are not just looking for
expert coders. There are many other ways to contribute. Support for
travel, housing and meals will be available to each successful applicant
who indicates need. Please understand that your application is not a
guarantee of participation in the event. Funds and space are limited: we
may not be able to sponsor every individual who is qualified to participate.
LEADERSHIP TEAM
Karen Cranston, [email protected]
Brian Sidlauskas, [email protected]
Arlin Stoltzfus, [email protected]
Mike Rosenberg [email protected]
Brian O’Meara, [email protected]
Mark Westneat [email protected]
Enrico Pontelli [email protected]
Rutger Vos [email protected]
Naim Matasci [email protected]
--
***************************************
Brian Sidlauskas
Assistant Professor
Department of Fisheries and Wildlife
104 Nash Hall
Oregon State University
Corvallis, OR 97331-3803
Voice: 541-737-1939
Fax: 541-737-3590
Email: [email protected]
Web: http://people.oregonstate.edu/~sidlausb/
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