Job announcement: Curator in paleontology, Helsinki

The Finnish Museum of Natural History – LUOMUS (www.luomus.fi) is an independent institute of the University of Helsinki and the national museum in the field of natural history in Finland. The museum’s duties are to maintain, augment and display its collections, and to conduct related research and education. Natural Sciences Unit is a part of LUOMUS and performs research related to geology, palaeontology and chronological and isotopic methods within a broad operating environment. The institution has a staff of c. 150, of which 15 work in the Natural Sciences Unit.

The Finnish Museum of Natural History is inviting applications for the permanent position of

CURATOR

specialising in palaeontology. The appointment will begin on 1st of October in 2013, or on a later date as agreed.

The curator will be part of the Geology Team of the Natural Sciences Unit. The team is responsible for the mineral, rock, and fossil collections, for participation in the digitising and data management work related to the collections, for research on geology and palaeontology, for teaching in its field, and for participation in the geological survey of Finnish nature. The permanent staff of the team contains two researchers (Curator and Senior Curator) and a Senior Museum Technician.

The Curator performs independent research in the field of palaeontology. As a part of the team, the Curator is responsible for the organisation, management, and expanding of the fossil collections, and for collections-related database work. The Curator participates in the administrative tasks of the Unit. As an expert in the field, the Curator will participate in LUOMUS’s tasks related to societal interaction. The Curator is expected to be active in obtaining external funding, and in supervising research students and junior colleagues. The duties include an annual average teaching load of two ECT credits.

The Curator must hold a doctoral degree in the field of palaeontology and have an international publication record demonstrating competence in research in the field. In addition to scientific merits, general knowledge in geology and palaeontology, readiness for collections-based research and for collections management tasks, activity in obtaining external funding, teaching and supervising experience, proven success in popularisation of research, as well as readiness to support research-based exhibitions, capabilities of societal interaction and good teamwork skills are considered further assets.

The official languages of the University are Finnish and Swedish. Applicants of non-Finnish origin may be exempt from formal language requirements. Proficiency in English is essential.

The salary will be based on levels 5-7 of the demands level chart for teaching and research personnel in the salary system of Finnish universities (a senior position equivalent to University Lecturer). The salary includes a component based on personal work performance. The position is filled with a 4-month trial period.

Henkilöstö- ja lakiasiain osasto PL 33 (Yliopistonkatu 4), 00014 Helsingin yliopisto Hallintovirasto Puhelin (09) 1911, faksi (09) 191 23993, www.helsinki.fi/yliopistoApplicants should enclose with their applications a CV and list of publications, or an academic portfolio containing the same information, and a research plan, as well as any other documents that demonstrate their merits.

Applications should be addressed to the Director of the Finnish Museum of Natural History – LUOMUS, and they must be submitted, together with the required enclosures, to the address: Registrar of the University of Helsinki, P.O. BOX 33 (Yliopistonkatu 4), 00014 UNIVERSITY OF HELSINKI, Finland, or by e-mail to hy-kirjaamo@helsinki.fi. The deadline for applications is 15th May 2013 at 15.45 Finnish time.

Further information about the duties and salary can be obtained from Dr Markku Oinonen, Director of the Natural Sciences Unit, Finnish Museum of Natural History – LUOMUS, email: markku.j.oinonen@helsinki.fi.

This is an unofficial translation of the official announcement, which can be found at http://www.helsinki.fi/rekrytointi/index.html?id=65637 (in Finnish).

Jobb tillgängligt: Curator, Professor, and Director of Comparative Biology Initiative

Curator, Professor, and Director of Comparative Biology Initiative

American Museum of Natural History

The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York invites applications and nominations for an outstanding scholar at the Full Curator & Full Professor level with internationally-recognized research and leadership credentials, and demonstrated, ongoing high-impact research productivity and grantsmanship, to provide innovative leadership for a new museum-wide initiative in comparative biology. This initiative will incorporate the work of multiple investigators at the Museum and at collaborating institutions in genomics and phenomics (large-scale phenotypic analysis), aimed at understanding the evolution and relationships of organisms in ways that clarify and illuminate the architecture of life. The successful candidate for this position should show experience and interest in managing large–scale, interdisciplinary, collaborative, multi-institutional projects and is expected to qualify for and be appointed as a tenured full curator in either the Division of Invertebrate Zoology or Vertebrate Zoology, and as a full professor in the Richard Gilder Graduate School at the AMNH. We seek a creative, active, broad-based researcher and dynamic academic leader who interacts well with others and who will utilize the extensive resources the Museum has to offer in the way of collections, research instrumentation and laboratories, teaching and mentoring, exhibition, and public education.

We particularly seek applications from, or nominations of, candidates with a compelling vision for the future trajectory of their science, and for comparative biology in general, and whose research addresses fundamental, cross-disciplinary questions. In addition to the above-noted expectations for high productivity and grantsmanship, the successful candidate will have outstanding communication skills in engaging diverse communities and demonstrated capabilities in management of collaborative projects and decision-making. Experience in interacting with governmental and non-governmental agencies and in fundraising are highly desirable, as are collection-based, field-based and/or computational research. Other responsibilities or opportunities include advising graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, offering courses in the Comparative Biology Ph.D. Program of the Museum’s Richard Gilder Graduate School, institutional service, development activities, and participating in Museum-sponsored exhibits and educational programs.

In addition to applications, we invite recommendations or nominations of potential candidates, and request that these include a resume and contact information for the nominee. Nominations or applications can be submitted to

seniorcuratorsearch@amnh.org. Applicants should submit the following materials electronically, preferably as PDF files, via a single email message to seniorcuratorsearch@amnh.org (Subject line: Senior Curator IZ-VZ Search Committee: your name): 1) a cover letter in which you indicate your interest, experience, and qualifications for the position; 2) a curriculum vitae; 3) PDF files of up to five recent publications; and 4) names and contact information for five referees (to be contacted by the Museum only for the process of tenure review in the case of a pending appointment). Inquires should be directed to John Flynn, Chair of the Search Committee and Dean of the Richard Gilder Graduate School: dean-rggs@amnh.org. Applications or nominations should be received no later than May 10, 2013.

Employer Information:

The American Museum of Natural History is one of the world’s preeminent scientific and cultural institutions. Since its founding in 1869, the Museum has advanced its global mission to discover, interpret and disseminate information about human cultures, the natural world and the universe through a wide-ranging program of scientific research, education and exhibition. The Museum’s research collections include more than 33 million natural history and cultural objects, and AMNH scientists undertake more than 100 expeditions annually. Science at the Museum includes five academic divisions, the Richard Gilder Graduate School, Sackler Institute of Comparative Genomics, 1 million specimen-capacity Ambrose Monell Cryo Collection, Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, high performance computational facilities, Microscopy and Imaging Facility, Southwest Research Station, the largest independent natural history library in the Western Hemisphere, and an array of other scientific facilities and resources.

The American Museum of Natural History is an Equal Opportunity/ Affirmative Action Employer. The Museum encourages Women, Minorities, Persons with Disabilities, Vietnam Era and Disabled Veterans to apply. The Museum does not discriminate due to age, sex, religion, race, color, national origin, disability, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, or any other factor prohibited by law.

If special accommodations are needed in applying for this position, please contact the Office of Human Resources at

hrdesk@amnh.org

or 212-768-5108.

ForBio course: Introduction to RADseq

The Research School in Biosystematics – ForBio – invites to the lab course
”Introduction to RADseq”

Restriction site Associated DNA (RAD) has recently made it possible to obtain
genome scale sequence data not only from model organisms, but also from species
without available genomic resources. RADseq techniques can be used to
address questions in a wide range of applications in biosystematics such as SNP
discovery and genotyping, genotype-phenotype association mapping, linkage
mapping, QTL analysis, hybridization and gene flow analysis, and population
genetics. More recently, RADseq data has also been used to address problems in
phylogeographic and phylogenetic studies by utilizing information from linked
SNPs in “mini-contigs” obtained from paired end sequencing. This is a
flexible method for people looking to work on both model and non-model
organisms.

The course will take place June 3-7, 2013 and use the RADseq platform at
Blindern, University of Oslo, Norway.

Application deadline is May 5, 2013.

More information about the course and how to apply can be found at
www.forbio.uio.no/events/courses/2013/radseq.html

The course is arranged by the Research school in biosystematics – ForBio. There
is no course fee, and PhD students/postdocs registered at Swedish, Danish, or
Norwegian universities can become ForBio members and will then have travel and
accomodation costs covered by ForBio. For information about ForBio and
membership etc, please see www.forbio.uio.no/membership/

More information about ticket refunds etc will be sent out after the
application deadline.

Welcome!
ForBio/Magnus

POST-DOC OPPORTUNITY IN EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY

Highly motivated and skilled applicants from all countries are invited to apply for a post-doc opportunity in the group of Alexandre Antonelli (http://antonelli-lab.net) at the University of Gothenburg, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Sweden, in close collaboration with researchers in Switzerland, the Netherlands, and the USA. You will participate in a dynamic and international research environment aimed at disentangling the evolutionary processes underlying biological diversity and its future.

Work tasks

You will help selecting fossil calibration points for dating higher-level phylogenetic trees of all animals and plants. These fossils will be linked to the bioinformatic pipeline in SUPERSMART (Self-Updating Platform for Estimating Rates of Speciation and Migration, Ages and Relationships of Taxa; see www.supersmart-project.org). You will then use time-calibrated phylogenies to test for correlations between age, species richness, range sizes and extinction threats; temperature fluctuations and changes in diversification rates; among other empirical tests and analyses.

Evaluation criteria

Requirements: Candidates are required to have a PhD and at least two scientific publications and solid experience handling phylogenetic trees. You must also be fluent in English and have excellent communication skills.

Other advantageous skills: The ideal candidate will also have experience in some or several of the following skills: molecular dating; palaeontology; biogeography; bioinformatics including programming/scripting in R, Python or Perl; statistics; GIS; ecological theory and methods.

We are seeking a candidate who is independent, self-motivated, and interested in the use or development of new methods and approaches, in short, a person willing to go beyond the state-of-the-art in the field. We will attach great importance to personal characteristics and independence in learning and working, creativity and documented productivity.

Starting date, duration and conditions

The position is available immediately or upon agreement. Please note that funding for this particular project is provided by a stipend and is therefore not associated with a formal employment at the University, which will nevertheless provide a working desk and all the working facilities given to regular employees.  The grant (in total SEK 240,000) covers a 1-year full-time working duty. There is the possibility to apply for a 1-year extension. Commuting is a possibility if there are special reasons.

Application

The application should consist of a single pdf and include: 1) A short letter with the applicant’s motivation for the application that describes how the applicant meets the selection criteria (max. one A4 page); 2) A list of relevant qualifications (CV; max 5 pages); 3) Complete list of publications, including submitted and accepted manuscripts.

Deadline for applications

Please submit your application, or let me know your interest in the position, as soon as possible. The evaluation process will begin on April 17th. The position will be filled as soon as an appropriate candidate is chosen.

Additional information and enquiries

Associate Professor Alexandre Antonelli. University of Gothenburg, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences. E-mail alexandre.antonelli@bioenv.gu.se

Seminar in the SPG seminar series: Alexandre Bouchard

Nytt föredrag hos Stockholm Phylogenomics Group (www.phylogenomics.se), Fredag 19/4 kl 14-15 @ Science for Life Laboratory i Solna.

”Dear all,

I am happy to present Alexandre Bouchard in the SPG seminar series.

Place: Floor 2 lunchroom of Science for Life Laboratory

Date: Friday, April 19

Time: 14:00

Title: Phylogenetic Sequential Monte Carlo

Abstract: Bayesian phylogenetic methods rely on accurate approximations of intractable expectations over the space of phylogenies, a problem that has been traditionally approached almost exclusively using Markov chain Monte Carlo samplers. However, the advent of large scale phylogenetic problems and new high resolution models calls for complementary approaches. In this talk, I will describe one such complementary approach based on Sequential Monte Carlo methods. I will demonstrate the flexibility that can be achieved using extensions of standard particle filters, and show different applications we are currently working on. I will also describe a new method that we have developed to parallelize SMC algorithms, entangled Monte Carlo. This technique, based on the particle genealogy, can be applied to parallelize SMC calculations while keeping communication costs between nodes low.

/Lars Arvestad”

 

ArtDatabanken söker ny chef – något för dig?

Naturvårdssveriges intressantaste uppdrag!

Är du den engagerade och visionära ledare vi söker som tillsammans med medarbetarna vill vara med att utveckla denna viktiga, spännande och dynamiska verksamhet?

ArtDatabanken är ett kunskapscentrum som bedömer tillståndet för landets arter, naturtyper och deras livsmiljöer samt är en brygga mellan forskning, miljöövervakning, näringar, naturvård, amatörbiologer och samhället. ArtDatabanken värnar Sveriges arter, naturtyper och deras livsmiljöer genom att tillhandahålla fakta och sprida information baserad på analyser, observationer och miljöövervakning.

Lär mer om oss på www.artdata.slu.se.

Som chef för ArtDatabanken har du ett övergripande ansvar för ledning, utveckling, planering, budget och uppföljning av hela verksamheten som omfattar cirka 80 anställda och omsätter cirka 110 miljoner per år. En spännande utmaning är att driva den förändringsprocess där Nationalnyckeln ska digitaliseras och att integrera hela ArtDatabanken i det arbetet.

Sista ansökningsdag är 22 april. För mer information kontakta Andrea Bergkvist på 073-944 50 75. Läs mer här: https://www.poolia.se/lediga-jobb/chef-till-artdatabanken-vid-slu-uppsala-35014/

Svenska artprojektet utlyser medel för taxonomisk forskning och inventering

Årets utlysning av medel från Svenska artprojektet för taxonomisk forskning och inventering gällande dåligt kända organismgrupper ligger nu ute på vår hemsida (länk, se nedan. Sista ansökningsdag är måndag 3 juni 2013. http://www.slu.se/sv/centrumbildningar-och-projekt/artdatabanken/svenska-artprojektet1/forskning/anslag-att-soka/

Svenska artprojektets museistöd ses över

I måndagens Uppsala Nya Tidning (4 mars 2013) aviserade landsbygdsminister Eskil Erlandsson att regeringen avser att göra en översyn av museistödet inom Svenska artprojektet. Den 6 mars skrev landsbygdsministern i ett svar på en fråga från riksdagsledamot Helena Leander, som undrade varför ingenting sägs om museistödet i regeringsbeslutet om ”Riktlinjer för Svenska artprojektet”:

”I den översyn av Svenska artprojektet jag under fjolåret lät genomföra konstaterades att museistödets resultat inte hade varit möjliga att bedöma inom ramen för översynen. En översiktlig redovisning av museistödets användning finns i resultatsammanställningen av artprojektets vetenskapliga del. Utöver detta har ännu ingen samlad utvärdering gjorts av stödet. När det gäller tillgängliggörandet av den kunskap vi kan få genom de biologiska samlingarna pekade översynen av artprojektet på ett antal frågor som behöver klargöras. Detta föranleder en översyn i särskild ordning av stödet till biologiska samlingar, med tonvikt på museistödets betydelse för artprojektet. Inom Regeringskansliet bereds nu en sådan översyn.

Regeringens avsikt är alltså att försäkra sig om att resurserna används på ett kostnadseffektivt sätt och till största nytta för den biologiska mångfalden.”

Svaret i sin helhet kan du hitta här: http://www.riksdagen.se/sv/Dokument-Lagar/Fragor-och-anmalningar/Svar-pa-skriftliga-fragor/Riktlinjer-for-Svenska-artproj_H012344/

ArtDatabanken har ännu inte fått information om hur den aviserade översynen av museistödet ska ske.

Public seminar: Collecting without being arrested!

Seminar: Collecting without being arrested

14 March 2013

Swedish Museum of Natural History (NRM), Locality: Lilla Hörsalen

The seminar deals with the implications of the Convention on Biological Diversity and ‘Access and Benefit Sharing’ (ABS) and the Nagoya protocol for natural history collections and scientific collecting and research, relevant to researchers in life sciences and collection personnel. Issues raised will address how to legally collect scientific specimens and samples in foreign countries, how to assure to follow the regulations when working with loans and donations in collection management, and how the implementation of the Nagoya protocol into EU and Swedish legislation is progressing.

Preliminary programme

13.00 Per Ericson, Science director, NRM. Welcome and Introduction to the seminar.

13.10 Börje Alriksson, Ministry of the Environment. A new EU regulation on ABS and its Swedish implementation.

13:30 China Williams, CBD Education Officer, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Legal aspects of access to collections: tools for implementing the CBD.

14.20 – 14.50 Coffee break

14.50 Mari Källersjö, Director of Gothenburg Botanical Garden. IPEN – an exchange network for botanic gardens for non-commercial exchange of plant material, based on the CBD.

15.10 Panel discussion and questions.

16.00 Closing the seminar

Very welcome!

OBS!! Please register latest 8 March to: Thomas.Lyrholm@nrm.se