Annual Systematics Symposium, 2005-2009, St. Louis, Missouri

50多年来，密苏里植物园每年都会举办系统学研讨会。七位左右的知名科学家受邀到圣路易斯向大约400名观众发表演讲，其中包括许多本科生和研究生。大多数听众来自距离圣路易斯五小时车程内的大学和学院，但这里通常有来自大约35个州的人。他们来听一个关于动植物生物学各个领域的进展报告，即如何对这些生物进行分类，以及我们如何研究它们之间的关系。这些演讲发表在《密苏里植物园年鉴》（Annals of The Missouri Botanical Garden）上，已经成为一种有用的教学工具。美国国家科学基金会的资金已经支持了52个专题讨论会中的50个，用于支付演讲者的旅行和住房费用，部分秘书费用和部分会议记录的出版费用。演讲者男女混合，目的是尽可能匹配观众的性别比例。听众通常在周五到达，会谈在周六进行，人们在周日离开。今年，在研讨会周末的周日上午有计算机软件演示。对于许多听众来说，系统学研讨会是他们第一次在大范围内接触系统学（研究生物的分类和关系）。他们可以与来自各种学校的科学家见面，安排实习，为研究生工作选择导师，并发展未来的工作关系。他们还第一次有机会参观世界上主要的植物收藏之一，并使用世界一流的植物图书馆。对于一些年轻的演讲者来说，系统学研讨会也是他们学术生涯中的一个重要转折点。许多听众在较小的学校和大学任教，研讨会是他们与具有相似科学兴趣的同事见面和交谈，开展新的合作，以及与潜在的研究生和实习生见面的机会。总而言之，系统学研讨会是国家中心科学互动的主要催化剂。

Abstract for NSF grant proposal 0515933 For more than 50 years, the Missouri Botanical Garden has hosted the Annual Systematics Symposium. Seven or so well-known scientists are invited to St. Louis to talk to an audience of about 400, including numerous undergraduates and graduate students. Most of the audience comes from colleges and universities within a five-hour drive of St. Louis but there are usually people here from about 35 states. They come to hear a progress report on what is happening in various areas of plant and animal biology, namely how these organisms are classified and how we study their relationships with one another. The talks are published in the Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, and they have become a useful teaching tool. NSF funding, which has already supported 50 of the 52 symposia, is used to pay the travel and housing costs of the speakers, a portion of the secretarial costs, and a portion of the publication costs of the proceedings. There is a mix of male and female speakers, with the aim of matching the gender ratio of the audience if at all possible. The audience usually arrives on a Friday, the talks take place on Saturday, and people depart on Sunday. This year, there are demonstrations of computer software on the Sunday morning of the symposium weekend.For numerous members of the audience, the Systematics Symposium is their first exposure to systematics (the study of classification and relationships of organisms) on a grand scale. They get to meet scientists from a wide array of schools, to arrange internships, to choose mentors for graduate work, and to develop future working relationships. They also get their first chance to visit one of the major plant collections in the world and to use a world-class botanical library. For some of the younger speakers too, the Systematics Symposium is a major turning point in their academic careers. Many members of the audience teach at smaller schools and colleges and the symposium is their chance to meet and talk with colleagues with similar scientific interests, to strike up new collaborations, and to meet with potential graduate students and interns. Altogether, the Systematics Symposium is a major catalyst of scientific interaction in the center of the nation.