LATEST NEWS

SSE is pleased to announce the 2020 Stephen Jay Gould Prize for the Understanding of Evolution. This award recognizes, promotes, and rewards individuals who have increased public understanding of evolutionary biology and its place in modern science. 

The award will include a cash prize of $5,000, and the recipient will present the Public Outreach Seminar at the 2020 Evolution Meeting in Cleveland, OH on June 19-23. The awardee should be a leader in evolutionary thought and in public outreach who can deliver an inspiring lecture for both professionals and the broader public. Nominees do not need to be members of SSE. Nominations are due January 15. Learn more here.

The Theodosius Dobzhansky Prize is awarded annually to recognize the accomplishments and future promise of an outstanding young evolutionary biologist. We consider candidates working on all areas of evolutionary biology, broadly defined. We value diversity, and are seeking a broad and diverse applicant pool from all axes and components of diversity in the evolutionary biology community. Nominees do not need to be members of SSE. The Dobzhansky Prize is accompanied by a check for U.S. $5000 and funds to attend the annual Evolution meeting. Nominations are due January 31. Learn more here.

The R. A. Fisher Prize is awarded annually for an outstanding Ph.D. dissertation paper published in the journal Evolution during a given calendar year. To be eligible for consideration, a manuscript must be based on graduate work of the primary author. The manuscript must have been published in an issue of the journal Evolution in 2019 (Volume 73). Nominees do not need to be members of SSE. The Fisher Prize is accompanied by a check for U.S. $1000 and funds to attend the annual Evolution meeting. Nominations are due January 31. Learn more here.

These grants provide support for local and regional educational outreach activities to take place during 2020. It is our hope that these projects will lead to ongoing outreach collaboration in future years. Preference will be given to new collaborations, but extensions of previous projects that have evidence of success are allowed. Amounts requested may be up to $1000. Proposals are due January 18. Learn more here.

See the SSE Sponsorship Highlight below for an example of a funded Small Grants program.

In the New Faculty Profiles, we invite highlighted faculty to discuss their research, describe how SSE has impacted their career, and share any tips or stories they may have for other researchers. This month we highlight Dr. Genevieve Kozak.

In the New Faculty Profiles, we invite highlighted faculty to discuss their research, describe how SSE has impacted their career, and share any tips or stories they may have for other researchers. This month we highlight Dr. Diogo Borges Provete.</p>

 When someone asks me if I’ve “seen the Amazon,” I think it reveals that people don’t know what the Amazon forest really is. I was born in Manaus, a city in the middle of the Amazon; the Amazon Forest is my home. I studied biology, but my contact with the forest began when I was a child. Like my parents, I was raised to like and respect nature.

Continue reading Érica M. S. Souza’s story on the SSE Community Blog.

From evALLution organizer Telma Laurentino:

The SSE local and regional outreach grant was the main funding source of our inclusive outreach activity: evALLution. These funds allowed us to acquire materials to bring our multi-sensory tree-of-life to… life! The activity taught more than 100 participants - from 5 to 90 years old - about evolution, including 40 participants with visual disability. The funds allowed us to set up a multi-sensory phylogeny with specimens and materials representative of 20 taxonomic groups for everyone to touch, which allowed the people with visual disability to experience biodiversity like never before, while learning about adaptation, natural selection and common ancestry! Smiles were wide and constant and the data we collected show that when knowledge is made accessible everyone can learn and everyone benefits. For this, we are extremely grateful to SSE for supporting our idea and helping us make the wonders of evolution available to ALL. 

Watch a video of the event here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4o3JLsXH12w

Learn more about the evALLution program in Telma's post on the SSE Community Blog: https://ssecommunityblog.org/evallution-3-lessons-the-blind-community-taught-us-about-inclusive-teaching-of-evolution/

Learn more about the Small Grants program here: http://www.evolutionsociety.org/index.php?module=content&type=user&func=view&pid=19

SSE elections are now open through November 27! All members should have received an email with a link to the 2020 candidates' statements and the ballot. Members have the opportunity to vote for the 2020 President-Elect, Executive Vice President, Non-North American Vice President, and two Councillors. The ballot also includes a proposed Constitutional amendment to create a new position of Treasurer and a candidate for that position if the amendment passes. Cast your vote today!

The 2019 transparency report from the ASN/SSE/SSB Evolution Meetings Code of Conduct Committee is now available. Each year, the Code of Conduct Committee will release a transparency report summarizing incidents, consequences, and related changes. The Code of Conduct has a strong emphasis on confidentiality; reports have been aggregated to avoid inadvertently linking reporters or respondents to incidents or any sanctions. The goal of this transparency report is to provide the community with a sense of how the Code of Conduct functions so they can build trust in the process, if such trust is warranted, and recommend improvements. Read the full report here. Learn more about the Safe Evolution program here.

The SSE New Faculty Profiles series highlights and introduces up-and-coming PIs in SSE. We invite highlighted faculty to discuss their research, describe how SSE has impacted their career, and share any tips or stories they may have for other researchers. Find out how to submit a nomination here.

This month we highlight Dr. Emily Josephs. Dr. Josephs is an assistant professor in the Plant Biology department at Michigan State University studying how various evolutionary forces shape patterns of genetic variation and trait variation in natural and domesticated plant species. Read her full profile here.

The SSE New Faculty Profiles series highlights and introduces up-and-coming PIs in SSE. We invite highlighted faculty to discuss their research, describe how SSE has impacted their career, and share any tips or stories they may have for other researchers. Find out how to submit a nomination here. 

This month we highlight Dr. Jonathan Puritz. Dr. Puritz is an assistant professor in the Biological Sciences Department at University of Rhode Island studying how natural and anthropogenic processes affect the evolution of marine populations through the lens of larval dispersal. Read his full profile here.

“I started doing research as an undergraduate student at the University of Sao Paulo in my native Brazil. By the time I was starting my master’s degree at the same university, I was very much set on a research career, but at that point I had never seriously entertained the possibility of leaving Brazil for a PhD. The thought had crossed my mind, but I thought it wasn’t for me: the process of finding a suitable advisor and lab, applying for a graduate program and moving overseas just seemed daunting.”

Continue reading for Rafael’s step-by-step primer for international students applying to PhD programs in the US. 

This month we highlight the 8th Annual Evolution Film Festival/Video Contest. Every year, scientists, science communicators and science film-makers are invited to submit an original, short (three-minute-or-less) video which tells an interesting story of evolution in a creative, engaging, entertaining way. The finalists are screened at the annual Evolution meeting and audience members vote on their favorite. As in previous years, SSE sponsored this year’s event by providing cash prizes for the winner ($1,000) and runner-up ($500).

This year’s winner (“How to Make Humans Sick”) was submitted by Noah Resnick of Arbor Vitae Animations and can be viewed here. The runner up was high school student Josh Mott of Largo, FL, who submitted “Josh’s Evolution Exploration” (view it here).

It’s election season again! This year we’ll be voting in a new President-Elect, the Non-North American Vice President, and two new Councilors. Candidate statements will be posted soon on the website, with polls opening in early November. Please join me in thanking our outgoing officers for their hard work and dedication: Past President Hopi Hoekstra, Non-North American VP Tracey Chapman, and Councilors Daniel Matute and Trisha Wittkopp. A big thank you also to our Nominating Committee, Marc Johnson, Anne Charmantier, and Annie Schmitt for their work selecting the new candidates. 

The 2020 SSE Council Ballot will include a proposed amendment of the Constitution to create a new position of Treasurer. Members will be able to vote on this proposal during the 2020 SSE Council election in November 2019.

Unlike most professional societies, the SSE has Constitution that do not define a position of Treasurer. Instead, the Bylaws specify that the Executive Vice President (EVP) is “responsible for the administration, management and operation of the Society” (SSE Bylaws, Article 3).  

In 2017, SSE Council voted to significantly expand its activities and programs, at which point the duties of the EVP became unmanageable for one person.

SSE Council proposes the creation of a separate office of Treasurer to begin January 2020. This proposal requires amendments to the Constitution and approval by a majority of votes submitted by members via ballots (SSE Constitution, Article 7). The text of the proposed amendments can be found here.

In November 2019, SSE members will receive an email ballot requesting a vote on the establishment of a Treasurer for the Society along with their preferences for candidates of other elected offices.

The Treasurer, like the EVP and the Secretary, will normally serve a three-year term. However, in order to avoid coincident turnover in these positions, the term for the first treasurer will be two years (i.e., Jan 2020–Dec 2021); each subsequent term will last three years.  

Proposed responsibilities of the SSE Treasurer

The Treasurer shall manage financial records for the society. The term will be three years with the possibility of re-election to the position. Stipend will be set at $10K per year.

Duties will include the following: 

1. Coordinate with EVP in planning the annual budget and serve as a member of the SSE Finance Committee
2. Monitor and assess annual income and expenditures in relation to the budget
3. Coordinate payment of all invoices, grants, prizes, awards, stipends and reimbursements and keep all receipts related to reimbursements
4. Coordinate with investment advisor regarding the management of the investment accounts
5. Coordinate with tax accountants and the financial manager for filing of appropriate annual tax information
6. Present Treasurer's reports to Council at annual and mid-year council meetings

We welcome your questions and comments on this proposal. To make your voice heard, please leave a comment here. SSE members must sign in to make a comment. 

The American Society of Naturalists, the Society for the Study of Evolution, and the Society of Systematic Biologists announce the call for nominations for the 1st annual ASN/SSE/SSB Inclusiveness, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA) Award. The IDEA Award will be given to a person at any career stage who has strengthened the ecology and evolutionary biology community by promoting inclusiveness and diversity in our fields. The award can also be presented to a group. The recipient will receive a plaque at the annual meeting of ASN/SSB/SSE and a $1000 honorarium.

***Eligibility Note: No contemporary officer, editor, member of diversity committee, or meeting organizer of the three societies is eligible for the award.***

Nominations should be submitted by January 15, 2020. Continue reading for nomination instructions.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has issued an invitation to researchers to register as potential reviewers for the 2020 Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP). The NSF writes, “Serving as a GRFP Reviewer is an excellent opportunity to apply your research and career expertise to help identify future science and engineering leaders. It is also a great opportunity to become familiar with the NSF Merit Review process.” Learn more and register here.

In the New Faculty Profiles, we invite highlighted faculty to discuss their research, describe how SSE has impacted their career, and share any tips or stories they may have for other researchers. Find out how to submit a nomination here. This month we highlight Dr. Nancy Chen.

In the New Faculty Profiles, we invite highlighted faculty to discuss their research, describe how SSE has impacted their career, and share any tips or stories they may have for other researchers. Find out how to submit a nomination here. This month we highlight Dr. Natalie Steinel.

From our Blog Editor, Sasha Mushegian: 

This fall, we’d like to hear your stories about learning. How did you learn a skill or concept that you needed to do the science you wanted to do? What winding paths has your learning taken, and what approaches and resources helped you? How do you learn completely new things among all the other responsibilities and needs you have as a scientist and human? If you are an educator: is there a particular curriculum or teaching approach that allowed your students to master a skill in a way you’re proud of? And what kinds of collaborative skill-sharing processes have you taken part in as a scientist in a community of learners?

Send your stories of everyday learning, as well as everyday creativity and everyday failure, to blog@evolutionsociety.org. Read more on the blog. 

The SSE Sponsorship Highlights present personal stories from individuals who have received SSE funding. This month we highlight the Diverse Careers Workshop at Evolution 2019. Continue reading to hear more about the workshop from the Diverse Careers Committee.

In the New Faculty Profiles, we invite highlighted faculty to discuss their research, describe how SSE has impacted their career, and share any tips or stories they may have for other researchers. Find out how to submit a nomination here. This month we highlight Dr. Lauren O'Connell.

In the New Faculty Profiles, we invite highlighted faculty to discuss their research, describe how SSE has impacted their career, and share any tips or stories they may have for other researchers. Find out how to submit a nomination here. This month we highlight Dr. Kevin Arbuckle.

Due to a budget surplus from the Evolution 2015 meeting in Guarujá, Brazil, this year the tri-societies (SSE, ASN, and SSB) were able to offer US$500 travel stipends to 20 Brazilian researchers to attend Evolution 2019 in Providence, RI. Continue reading to hear from some of the recipients about what this funding meant to them.

SSE is pleased to announce the Rosemary Grant Advanced Awards, our new research grants for advanced PhD students. These grants are part of the Graduate Research Excellence Grants award program. These awards are to assist students in the later stages of their Ph.D. programs. Funds can be used to enhance the scope of dissertation research, such as to conduct additional experiments or field work. Awards will range from $2,000 - $3,500 and approximately ten awards will be made. This award is not limited to students in the United States. Proposals are due September 15.