Phylo-hackathon, Tucson, AZ, January 2013

[Karen Cranston]

Phylogenies! Hacking! Tucson in January! Apply at
http://tinyurl.com/PhyloTastic2

An implicit promise of the Tree of Life project is that, ultimately,
expert knowledge of species phylogeny will be accessible and usable by
everybody. In other words, we will all be able to get the species
trees we need, in a useable form, when we need them. The Phylotastic
project aims to make that vision a reality, by developing a loosely
coupled system of components that, in response to a user’s query (a
list of taxa plus conditions), will rectify names, find suitable
source trees, prune and graft to get the right species, estimate
branch lengths, and return the results with metadata on sources and
methods.

In June 2012, the HIP (Hackathons, Interoperability, Phylogenies)
working group of NESCent staged a hackathon
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackathon) to prototype components of a
Phylotastic system, and implement demos to show their potential.
Thanks to 25 participants who responded to an open call (just like
this one), that hackathon was an extraordinary success (see
http://phylotastic.org/).

Now we are gearing up for a second hackathon, to take another step
toward providing computable, convenient, credible access to the Tree
of Life. We aim to recruit a diverse group of participants, including
students, faculty, postdocs, and staff of both genders and from
different backgrounds. Only some of the seats at the hackathon will be
filled by expert hackers who spend their time coding. We also need
folks who can:

* Provide knowledge of workflows and downstream uses of trees
* Design user interfaces
* Test software
* Make screencasts, develop tutorials, and document user experiences

Applications are now being accepted to Phylotastic 2, which will take
place January 28th, 2013 to February 1st, 2013 at the BIO5 facility in
warm and sunny Tucson, AZ (http://bio5.arizona.edu/about-bio5).
Information on how to apply is provided below. Partial support (and,
if funds allow, full support) for travel, food and lodging will be
available to each successful applicant who indicates need. We
particularly welcome applications from women and members of
underrepresented groups.

To understand how you might be able to contribute, review the
slideshow (ppt format, http://bit.ly/RWRgIc, or PDF format,
http://bit.ly/POaoci), consult the web site (phylotastic.org) or
contact a member of the HIP leadership team (listed below).

Sincerely,
Karen Cranston
- on behalf of the HIP (Hackathons, Interoperability and Phylogenies)
Leadership Team*

HOW TO APPLY
Before 16 November, 2012 at midnight, EST, fill out the online form:

http://tinyurl.com/PhyloTastic2

* The application form asks you to describe how you can contribute to
Phylotastic. Remember that we are not just looking for expert coders.
There are many other ways to contribute.
* Support for travel, housing and meals will be available to each
successful applicant who indicates need.
* Please understand that your application is not a guarantee of
participation in the event. Funds and space are limited: we may not
be able to sponsor every individual who is qualified to participate.

* LEADERSHIP TEAM
Karen Cranston, karen.c...@nescent.org
Brian Sidlauskas, brian.si...@oregonstate.edu
Arlin Stoltzfus, ar...@umd.edu
Mike Rosenberg mro...@asu.edu
Brian O’Meara, bom...@utk.edu
Mark Westneat mwes...@fieldmuseum.org
Enrico Pontelli epon...@cs.nmsu.edu
Rutger Vos rutge...@gmail.com
Naim Matasci nmat...@iplantcollaborative.org