OSU workshop on phylogenetic methods. Columbus

The Ohio State University, as an extension of the successful workshops sponsored by the Willi Hennig Society, will conduct a workshop on phylogenetic methods.
Columbus, Ohio,
July 13-17, 2009.

The purpose is to provide further instruction and experience to students who already have some familiarity with phylogenetic analysis. The format is a series of lectures and laboratory sessions that will give students the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the logic of the phylogenetic method, parsimony, maximum likelihood and Bayesian approaches, tree search strategies, measures of support, DNA alignment, morphological character coding, weighting, analysis of multiple and large data sets, consensus and character hypothesis testing.

Lecturers are expected to include

• Gonzalo Giribet (Harvard University),
• Kevin Nixon (Cornell University),
• Ward Wheeler (American Museum of Natural History), and
• John Wenzel (Ohio State University).

The software used for the course will include TNT, POY, RaxML, and MrBayes, and will be distributed with a course packet and workbook.

Participation is limited to 20 students. Cost for the workshop, including one week of lodging, is $1200, but each student will receive a $600 fellowship paid directly to the workshop. Thus the student will be responsible for only a workshop cost of $600, the cost of transportation to and from the Ohio State campus, and meals. Lodging for the period of July 12 through 17 is included in the cost of the workshop, and will be provided adjacent to campus, consisting of modest apartments with a kitchenette.

Applications may be made through http://systematics.osu.edu Click on "workshop information" for details. An application consists of a completed application form (available from the web site), a current CV for the student, and a letter from the student’s advisor regarding the relevance of the course to the student’s career goals. Applications are due April 30, 2009, and notification of acceptance will begin by May 15. Further information may be obtained by emailing osuphylo@....

This workshop is sponsored by the Ohio State University Museum of Biological Diversity (http://mbd.osu.edu), Departments of Evolution Ecology and Organismal Biology (http://eeob.osu.edu) and Entomology(
http://www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/entomology/), and the Willi Hennig Society .
Organized by Marymegan Daly, John V. Freudenstein, and John W. Wenzel.