The Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Michigan invites nominations of outstanding scientists to participate in an exciting international Early Career Scientists Symposium themed “Frontiers in Community Assembly.” The symposium will be on March 12, 2016, in Ann Arbor, Mich. Tadashi Fukami, associate professor of biology, Stanford University and Rosemary Gillespie, professor and Schlinger Chair in Systematic Entomology, University of California, Berkeley, will be the keynote speakers.

Potential topics for include phylogenetic and ecological models for inferring community structure, speciation and the evolution of secondary sympatry, genomic processes underlying colonization and local adaptation, the structuring of communities across environmental gradients, inferences from paleo-communities.

We welcome nominations of early career scientists who are studying ecological and evolutionary approaches to community assembly. Early career scientists are considered senior graduate students (who stand to receive their Ph.D. within one year) or postdoctoral researchers. A colleague or advisor may provide the nomination, however self-nominations will be accepted. The selected nominees will be invited to present their work and to participate in panel discussions at the symposium. Symposium activities for the speakers are from Friday, March 11 – Sunday, March 13.

The nomination consists of the nominee’s curriculum vitae, a brief abstract of the proposed presentation (< 200 words, written by the nominee), and an optional brief letter of recommendation addressing the nominee’s scientific promise and ability to give a compelling talk. Nominations should be sent electronically (in one file, please) to eeb-ecss-nomination2016@umich.edu using the nominee’s name as the subject line (last name first).

Review of nominations will begin on January 22, 2016. Selected participants will be contacted by February 1, 2016, and will have all expenses covered (registration, travel and accommodation). An official announcement of the list of speakers will be issued soon thereafter.

For more information, contact Carol Solomon.

The 2016 Early Career Scientists Symposium committee includes:
Lydia Beaudrot
James Pease
Marian Schmidt
Carol Solomon
Ben Winger
Senay Yitbarek

Early Career Scientists Symposium 2016 website