Geobiology 2017: The Inaugural International Conference of the Geobiology Society

地球生物学 2017：地球生物学会首届国际会议

• 批准号: 1734126
• 负责人: Timothy Lyons
• 金额: $ 4.95万
• 依托单位: University of California-Riverside
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2017-05-01 至 2019-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1734126&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Geobiology; 2017; Inaugural; International; Conference

Much as chemists and physicists brought their tools and expertise to bear on studies of the Earth to create geochemistry and geophysics in the middle of the 20th century, geochemists and microbiologists today have merged their toolkits toward an unprecedented exploration of the co-evolution of Earth's life and physical environments in a maturing field of science known as geobiology. To support the progress of geobiology as an integrated discipline, this project funds participation by U.S.-based scientists in the inaugural conference of the Geobiology Society, scheduled for June 11-14, 2017, in Banff, Canada, a world-famous geobiological destination in its own right. Recognizing that a single, international, community-building conference was critically needed to bring together this first generation of self-identifying geobiologists, the Geobiology Society designed this conference to promote the exchange of ideas, tools, and expertise with emphasis on contributions from early-career scientists (newly hired assistant professors, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students). Reducing participation costs for U.S.-based scientists, who will make up ~70% of the estimated 350 total participants, is a key part of the Geobiology Society's plan to ensure accessibility to this initial meeting, which will in turn seed its long-term sustainability. The society's pledge to sustaining these inclusive, community-building efforts for all stages of scientific experience is in itself a broader impact. In addition, each student attendee will prepare a digital poster presentation to be bundled into an online conference proceedings volume that will be made publically available on the Geobiology Society website.Leading scientists from both geochemistry and geophysics have recognized the need to bring together scientists with different backgrounds to enhance cross-disciplinary communication. Yet a recent NSF-sponsored workshop on Geomicrobiology and Microbial Geochemistry (October 2013) identified barriers to exchange of relevant information (e.g., on methodologies) among different sub-disciplines as one of the main obstacles to advancing the field of geobiology. Although expertise in any given aspect of geobiology requires specialized training, it is the cross-fertilization among these seemingly disparate fields that defines geobiology, and highlights the need for this shared conference. Because a major goal of this conference is to facilitate bridge building across the disparate fields that define geobiology, particularly from the geological and biological ends of the spectrum, morning programs will be devoted to a single series of oral sessions that all participants will attend; there will be no overlapping or conflicting sessions. The first two full days will explore the modern tools of organic and inorganic geochemistry, molecular biology, microbial ecology, sedimentary geology, and paleontology. The third full day will focus on interpretations of the rock record, including key studies of the modern world that enhance our ability to look back. The afternoons are designed for extended student poster sessions. Additionally, there will be informal talks offered during the poster sessions covering a range of topics, including data visualization, new technological advances in instrumentation, and tips for searching and securing a job.

就像化学家和物理学家在20世纪中叶利用他们的工具和专业知识研究地球，创造了地球化学和地球物理学一样，今天的地球化学家和微生物学家已经将他们的工具包合并在一起，在一个被称为地球生物学的成熟科学领域，对地球生命和物理环境的共同进化进行前所未有的探索。为了支持地球生物学作为一门综合学科的发展，该项目资助美国科学家参加定于2017年6月11日至14日在加拿大班夫举行的地质生物学学会成立大会，班夫本身就是世界著名的地球生物学目的地。认识到迫切需要一个单一的国际社区建设会议来汇聚这些自我认同的第一代地质生物学家，地质生物学会设计了这次会议，以促进思想、工具和专业知识的交流，重点是职业生涯早期科学家(新聘用的助理教授、博士后研究员和研究生)的贡献。减少美国科学家的参与成本是地质生物学会计划的关键部分，该计划旨在确保首次会议的可及性，这反过来将为会议的长期可持续性提供种子。美国科学家将占约350名参与者总数的70%。该学会承诺为科学经验的所有阶段维持这些包容性的社区建设努力，这本身就是一种更广泛的影响。此外，每位学生与会者将准备一份数字海报演示文稿，并将其打包成在线会议论文集，将在地质生物学会的网站上公开提供。来自地球化学和地球物理学的主要科学家已经认识到，有必要将具有不同背景的科学家聚集在一起，以加强跨学科交流。然而，最近一次由国家科学基金会赞助的地球微生物学和微生物地球化学研讨会(2013年10月)发现，不同分学科之间交流相关信息(如方法学)的障碍是推进地球生物学领域的主要障碍之一。虽然在地球生物学的任何特定方面的专门知识都需要专门培训，但正是这些看似不同的领域之间的相互作用定义了地球生物学，并突出了召开这次共享会议的必要性。由于这次会议的一个主要目标是促进在定义地球生物学的不同领域之间建立桥梁，特别是从地质学和生物学的两端，因此上午的节目将专门用于一系列的口头会议，所有与会者都将参加；将不会有重叠或冲突的会议。头两天将探索有机和无机地球化学、分子生物学、微生物生态学、沉积地质学和古生物学的现代工具。第三天将集中于对摇滚唱片的解读，包括对现代世界的关键研究，这些研究增强了我们回顾历史的能力。下午的活动是为延长学生海报发布时间而设计的。此外，在招贴会期间将举行非正式讲座，涵盖一系列主题，包括数据可视化、仪器仪表的新技术进步以及寻找和找到工作的技巧。