Conference Proposal: Support attendance to the 2014 - 26th International Ornithological Congress in Tokyo, Japan

来自世界各地的鸟类学家每四年在国际鸟类学大会上聚会一次，分享他们的研究成果，并建立对推动该学科向前发展至关重要的研究合作。对鸟类的研究几乎在每个国家都有，而且许多研究跨越了国界。对于美国鸟类学家来说，与他们的国际同行直接交流想法是至关重要的。尽管国际鸟类学大会的焦点显然是鸟类，但出席会议的鸟类学家所代表的学科范围涵盖了所有生物科学。这些学科的部分清单包括：进化、系统学、生态学、种群生物学、生理学、内分泌学、免疫学、功能形态学、行为生态学、神经生物学和保护生物学。科学家之间在口头和海报演示期间交换信息是非常有价值的，但同样重要的是在会议之间的走廊上以及在大会期间安排的许多基于主题的研讨会期间建立的个人交流和合作。NSF提供的资金将有助于支持未来鸟类学领导人的出席。具体地说，获奖者将处于职业生涯的早期阶段(例如，研究生和博士后研究员)，并将来自美国的机构。选拔委员会还将努力支持来自鸟类学历史上代表性不足的群体的个人。这些科学家的协助将有助于建立新的国际合作，从而为所有相关各方创造长期利益。例如，2010年国际鸟类学大会上的一次圆桌讨论导致成立了鹦鹉国际研究协调委员会，该委员会现在拥有来自各大洲的247名成员。大会的信息将以光盘的形式提供，其中载有所有全体会议和专题讨论会的发言全文，以及所有海报和口头发言的摘要。同样，论文的子集将在《鸟类学杂志》的在线开放获取版上发表。

Ornithologists from around the world meet once every four years at the International Ornithological Congresses to share their research findings and forge research collaborations that are critical in moving the discipline forward. Research on birds is conducted in practically every country, and much of the research spans national boundaries. For U.S. ornithologists to remain current, it is essential that they exchange ideas directly with their international colleagues. Although the obvious focus of the International Ornithological Congress is birds, the breadth of disciplines represented among ornithologists in attendance encompasses all of the biological sciences. A partial list of these disciplines includes: evolution, systematics, ecology, population biology, physiology, endocrinology, immunology, functional morphology, behavioral ecology, neurobiology, and conservation biology. The exchange of information among scientists during oral and poster presentations is of great value, but equally important are the personal exchanges and resulting collaborations established in the hallways between sessions and during the numerous topic-based workshops scheduled throughout the congress.Funds provided by NSF will help support the attendance of future leaders of ornithology. Specifically, recipients will be at an early stage in their careers (e.g., graduate students and post-doctoral fellows) and will be from U.S. institutions. The selection committee will also strive to support individuals from groups that are historically underrepresented in ornithology. Assistance of such scientists will help forge new, international collaborations, thereby creating long-term benefits for all involved. For example, a Round Table Discussion at the 2010 International Ornithological Congress resulted in the formation of an international Research Coordination Committee on parrots that now boasts 247 members from all continents. Information from the congress will be made available through publication on CD-ROMs containing the full text of all plenary and symposium talks, as well as the abstracts of all posters and oral presentations. Similarly, a subset of papers will be published in an online open access edition of the Journal of Ornithology.