Conference:Funding to support graduate students and post docs to attend Halophile 2016, the international congress on halophilic microorganisms; May, 2016; San Juan, Puerto Rico

高盐度环境，如大盐湖或死海，是盐分浓度比海水高五到十倍的生态系统。尽管有这些极端的条件，水中还是有喜欢盐的微生物，即“嗜盐微生物”，它们适应了这些极度盐碱化的栖息地。所有三个生命领域(细菌、古生菌和真核生物)及其病毒中的嗜盐菌及其病毒是“嗜盐微生物2016：第十一届国际嗜盐微生物大会”的焦点(会议网站：http://www.halophiles2016.org/)，)，这是为从事该领域工作的研究人员举办的一个多学科的国际会议。大会自1978年以来每三年举行一次，其使命是探索富盐环境中微生物学的方方面面，并借鉴多个学科的专业知识，以促进在理解高盐生态系统生命方面的量子进展。NSF为大会提供支持的目的是帮助学生和早期职业研究人员接触到这一独特的科学聚会，特别是那些在科学/技术/工程/数学(STEM)领域代表性不足的群体的成员。嗜盐微生物会议系列是讨论嗜盐微生物的主要会议，并重点讨论嗜盐微生物的适应、生态学、地理分布、生理学、进化、分类学、生物化学、遗传学、基因组学、元基因组学、生物技术、代谢工程和生物修复。与会者将沉浸在这种知识氛围中六天，听备受尊敬和出版的研究人员的讲座，并获得关于嗜盐领域的当前、新兴和广泛状况的广泛知识。尽管申请过程将向所有人开放，但符合条件的本科生/研究生和博士后将优先考虑来自STEM领域代表性不足的群体。国际嗜盐者大会在扩大科学参与方面有着悠久的历史。

Hypersaline environments such as the Great Salt Lake or the Dead Sea are ecosystems where salt concentrations are five to ten times higher than seawater. Despite these extreme conditions, the waters are teaming with salt loving microorganisms, "halophiles", which are adapted to these exceedingly briny habitats. Halophiles in all three domains of life (Bacteria, Archaea and Eukarya) and their viruses are the focus of "Halophiles 2016: The 11th International Congress on Halophilic Microorganisms May 22-27th, San Juan, Puerto Rico" (Conference website: http://www.halophiles2016.org/), which is a multidisciplinary and international conference for researchers working in this field. The mission of the Congress, which has met triennially since 1978, is to explore all aspects of microbiology in salt-enriched environments and to draw on expertise from numerous disciplines in order to facilitate quantum advances in understanding life in high salt ecosystems. The objective of NSF support for the Congress is to help provide students and early career researchers with access to this unique scientific gathering, especially those who are members of groups underrepresented in Science/Technology/Engineering/Mathematics (STEM) fields.The Halophiles conference series is the primary meeting that discusses halophilic microorganisms, and highlights halophile adaptations, ecology, geographic distributions, physiology, evolution, taxonomy, biochemistry, genetics, genomics, metagenomics, biotechnology, metabolic engineering, and bioremediation. Attendees will be immersed for six days in this intellectual atmosphere, attending lectures given by highly respected and published researchers, and gaining a wide range of knowledge regarding the current, emerging and broad state of the halophile field. Though the application process will be open to all, priority will go to qualifying undergraduate/graduate students and post-docs who are from groups underrepresented in STEM fields. The International Halophile Congress has a long history of broadening participation in science.