C-DEBI Newsletter – June 1, 2013
C-DEBI Newsletter – June 1, 2013This newsletter is also accessible via our website.
Dear C-DEBI,
We appreciate the strong response to our management survey we have received from over 160 of you, and are committed to improving C-DEBI based on your response. Thank you for being a part of C-DEBI!
In other Center news, we received an overwhelming response to our Spring 2013 calls for research and education proposals, and will be making tough decisions soon for our now highly competitive calls. Find out the variety of proposals we funded in our last round.
C-DEBI also held its latest Networked Speaker Series this past Thursday with Tim Engelhardt presenting his research on viruses in marine subsurface sediments. The video will be posted soon to our website in case you missed it.
Volunteer for an IODP Panel or Committee
The Consortium for Ocean Leadership, in association with the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP), is seeking new U.S.-based members for the U.S. Advisory Committee for Scientific Ocean Drilling (USAC) and the Advisory Panels to the JOIDES Resolution Facility Board, specifically the Proposal Evaluation Panel and Site Characterization Panel. We are also seeking both U.S. and international members for the JOIDES Resolution Facility Board. New members will serve three-year terms beginning in October 2013. Scientists interested in volunteering for these opportunities should send a cover letter and a two-page CV to Charna Meth (cmeth@oceanleadership.org) by June 5, 2013. Letters should clearly indicate your primary field of expertise, briefly document any previous committee experience, describe your interests in the scientific ocean drilling programs, and identify your preferred panel or committee assignment. We strongly encourage the involvement of early career scientists, as well as those with more experience.
Participate in EarthCube Connections
The National Science Foundation’s (NSF) EarthCube has created a new graphical software utility to connect geoscientists. The purpose of the new software is to help scientists find appropriate potential proposal collaborators. For more information, click here.
Recent Events
Beginning May 17, thirteen STEM educators from across North America set sail on board the scientific ocean drilling vessel JOIDES Resolution for thirteen days, as participants in the latest “School of Rock Expedition for Educators” professional development workshop. Since 2005, the School of Rock program has provided hundreds of educators with hands-on training in scientific techniques using the same laboratories, samples, and data available to working scientists aboard the ship. School of Rock is organized and delivered by the Deep Earth Academy at the Consortium for Ocean Leadership and supported by the IODP-USIO.
Deep Life Workshop Held in Portland, OR, May 2013
The DCO Deep Life Workshop was held 14-15 May 2013 at McMenamins, Portland, Oregon, with the goal of assessing progress in two major Community projects (the Census of Deep Life and Rock-Hosted Communities) and projecting priority research efforts over the next few years. The workshop involved 38 Deep Life researchers from around the world, and included representatives from the Ocean Observatories Initiative, C-DEBI (Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations), and the Department of Energy Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory. The DCO has posted a summary of the meeting on their website.
Articles
The Spring 2013 issue of Core Discoveries, the newsletter for U.S. scientific ocean drilling, is now available online. This issue features an article about recent deep biosphere research written by C-DEBI participants Heath Mills and Activity Theme Team Leader, Beth Orcutt, a preview of results from the Japan Trench Fast Drilling (JFAST) project, a look at how the USIO outfits the JOIDES Resolution for an expedition, and updates from the NSF, USIO, and the Chair of USAC.
Spotlight on Women in Science
This naturejobs.com article addresses creative ways to support women in science in order to increase their presence and improve retention. Topics include balancing work and home life, enhancing confidence in leadership ability, promoting mentorship, networking skills programs and increasing inclusion of unspoken gender biases in common discourse.
Deep Earth Academy seeks a scientist to help formulate and participate in a large informal science grant project extending the knowledge and excitement of the JOIDES Resolution and related science to the public through museums, libraries, community groups and other venues. The selected individual should be eager to share their science with non-scientists, have some background working with informal science venues, and have creative ideas. A meeting is planned for August 5-7, 2013 in Washington, DC. Interested applicants, please send a letter describing your background and interest in this project and current CV to Sharon Cooper at scooper@oceanleadership.org by June 11, 2013. Questions welcome!
Nominate or Become an Ocean Leadership Distinguished Lecturer for the 2014-15 Academic Year
The Consortium for Ocean Leadership is seeking dynamic speakers to convey the excitement of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program to geoscience communities across the United States. Through the Distinguished Lecturer Series, Ocean Leadership has brought over 700 presentations to academic institutions and other organizations. Your help is needed to identify scientists interested in continuing this important program during the 2014-2015 academic year. Lectures focus on the discoveries and results made through the ocean drilling programs and are primarily aimed at undergraduate and graduate students, museums, and science departments. If you or someone you know is interested in becoming a Distinguished Lecturer, email their name, institution, and potential lecture topic to Charna Meth (cmeth@oceanleadership.org) by the nomination deadline of June 14, 2013.
A postdoctoral researcher with interests in microbial ecology and bioinformatics is wanted for a project investigating the biogeography and evolution of rock-hosted microbial communities in William Brazelton’s laboratory at the University of Utah: http://www.biology.utah.edu/people/details.php?id=2015. The project will involve assembly and analysis of large metagenomic datasets as one aspect of an interdisciplinary, collaborative effort to explore the microbial ecology of deep-sea hydrothermal vents and other “extreme” environments. Applicants should hold a Ph.D. in a related field, and experience with Perl, Python, or a similar programming language is required. Experience with bioinformatic tools and genome assembly is strongly preferred. Willingness to comply with open data and open software policies is also desirable. Computational work will occupy the bulk of the successful candidate’s time, but there is potential for wet lab work and field work as the project progresses. Applications will be reviewed beginning July 1, 2013; for details, please refer to the position posting.
Don’t forget to email me with any items you’d like to share in future newsletters! You are what makes our deep biosphere community!
Exploring life beneath the seafloor and making transformative discoveries that advance science, benefit society, and inspire people of all ages and origins.