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The societies sponsoring the 2017 Evolution meeting in Portland and the 2018 Evolution Congress in Montpellier required all conference participants to agree to a meeting Code of Conduct. We have recently released a transparency report that serves to inform attendees and society members about reported incidents, general outcomes of those reports, and steps taken by the societies to further prevent inappropriate behavior at our meetings. You can read the full report here. Visit the Safe Evolution page to learn more about the tri-societies’ commitment to promoting a safe, inclusive, and professional work environment at the joint Evolution Meetings.

Reminder: Early registration for Evolution 2019 ends tonight! Register before 10:00 PM tonight, April 15, to receive the early-bird rate and apply for travel awards, apply to volunteer, or apply or the Hamilton Award symposium. Start your registration here: https://www.evolutionmeetings.org/registration.html

The SSE Council invites proposals for two SSE-sponsored symposia to be held at the 2020 Evolution meeting in Cleveland, OH, USA on June 19-23, 2020. SSE Council considers the novelty of the topic and likely interest among its members when selecting symposia to sponsor. Sub-fields or taxonomic groups that have been underrepresented in past symposia will be considered preferentially. Previous sponsored symposia are listed on the SSE webpage along with detailed instructions for preparing proposals.

SSE Council seriously considers the diversity of participants as a criterion for symposium funding. Symposium organizers are expected to take into account gender, seniority, nationality, and other axes of diversity traditionally underrepresented in Society symposia, and to describe their efforts in the proposal.

To be assured of full consideration, proposals must be received by midnight Eastern Standard Time on June 1, 2019. Read more here.

SSE is offering 50 travel stipends, $500 each, for graduate students and postdocs to attend the meeting. Recipients must present a talk or poster at the meeting. Application is part of meeting registration. Researchers at various careers stages working in low-GDP countries may be eligible for the SSE International Travel Stipend, which may cover travel and lodging expenses. Each meeting attendee may only receive one society-sponsored travel award. Learn more here.

Have questions about life outside of academia? The Diverse Careers Workshop, held Friday, June 21 at 1:00 PM at the Evolution 2019 conference in Providence, RI, offers information and resources for graduate students about a wide variety of evolutionary biology careers. The workshop will allow students to interact with PhDs in a variety of fields in small groups. Registration required; sign up during meeting registration. Learn more about past workshops here.

This year’s contest invites scientists and science educators (students, postdocs, faculty, and full- or part-time science communicators) to make a 3-minute-or-less video telling an interesting evolution story in a fun, creative way. The finalists will be screened at the Evolution 2019 conference on Saturday, June 22 at 7:30 PM. Learn more on the film festival website.

The SSE Diversity Committee is partnering with ASN, SSB, and the Story Collider to bring you “Stories from Outside the Distribution”, featuring personal accounts from a diverse group of evolutionary biologists. Sign up during meeting registration. $10 for students and postdocs; $15 for faculty.

Registration for Evolution 2019 is now open! The conference will be held in Providence, RI, USA from April 21-25. It is the joint annual conference of the Society for the Study of Evolution, the Society of Systematic Biologists, and the American Society of Naturalists. Members of any of these Societies receive discounted registration. Fees cover attendance at all scientific events over June 22-25, including concurrent sessions, symposia, spotlight sessions, plenary addresses, and three evening poster sessions with light food (drink tickets included). A small additional fee covers registration for the Super Social, to be held the last night of the conference at the riverfront Skyline venue. Childcare will be offered free of charge. Safe Evolution conference policies and response procedures will be in place to ensure a safe, inclusive environment for all participants. Learn more about the various travel awards, housing options, and special events on the meeting website. Early registration closes April 15!

Keep an eye out for the opening of registration for Evolution 2019 in Providence, RI on June 21-25. You can view registration rates on the meeting website. SSE members receive $100 off registration. A variety of travel awards are available to undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and international researchers. View the full list here. Graduate students will also have the opportunity to apply during registration to volunteer at the conference to receive a rebate equal to early student registration fees.

Mark your calendars for Evolution 2019 in Providence, RI on June 21-25. Meeting registration and talk/poster submissions will open in February. (Please note: this year we return to the model in which abstracts are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis). You can view hotel information here. Dorm information will be posted in the coming weeks. Stay tuned for more updates!

We are pleased to announce a limited-time travel award for students, postdocs, and early-career researchers conducting research in Brazil to attend Evolution 2019 in Providence, RI. This award is made possible by the surplus of funds from the 2015 Evolution meeting in Guarujá, Brazil. Applicants must be (1) a current member of SSE, ASN, SSB, or the Sociedade Brasileira de Genética, (2) conducting research at a university or institution in Brazil, (3) a current graduate student or within 6 years of finishing their PhD, and (4) presenting a talk or poster at the meeting. Apply here by January 15. Clique aqui para a versão em português.

The talks recorded during the Second Joint Conference on Evolutionary Biology in Montpellier are now online. Scroll through the program to view links to PDFs and recordings: https://www.evolutionmontpellier2018.org/program-second-joint-congress-evolutionary-biology

Thank you to ESEB and the Evolution Congress organizers and sponsors for establishing a meeting Code of Conduct and a procedure for addressing inappropriate behavior! We are committed to promoting an inclusive and professional climate at our meetings and will continue to do so with our Safe Evolution initiative. We encourage anyone who has experienced or witnessed inappropriate behavior at our meetings to consult these procedures—designed to make reporting straightforward, keep investigations completely confidential, and set appropriate standards for behavior by all participants. Learn more here.

If you are attending the Evolution meeting in Montpellier, be sure not to miss these great talks:

• SSE Presidential Address, Dr. Hopi Hoekstra. “The genetic basis of behavioral evolution.” August 22, 8:30 AM, Berlioz Room


• Gould Prize Talk, Dr. Tim Birkhead. “The Most Perfect Thing: the Inside (and Outside) of a Bird's Egg.” August 20, 6:30 PM, Berlioz Room


• Dobzhansky Award Talk, Dr. Amanda Kyle Gibson. “Bloody-minded parasites: unraveling coevolution in natural and experimental populations.” August 22, 9:30 AM, Berlioz Room.


• Hamilton Award Symposium, chair: Dr. Joel McGlothlin. August 19, 10:35 AM, 1:55 PM, and 4:05 PM, Berlioz Room

See the full schedule here. 

The field of evolutionary biology is at its best when all of its members are supported by positive, safe, and healthy work environments. To reinforce a healthy environment for all, the Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE), the Society of Systematic Biologists (SSB) and the American Society of Naturalists (ASN) have worked together to develop Safe Evolution, a centralized campaign for our society membership to positively affect the climate at our conferences and positively impact all members in our field. Continue reading for a letter from SSE President Hopi Hoekstra with important information and links.

Last month, Evolution Letters published a study by Florence Débarre and colleagues about gender representation at evolution conferences. The study used select data from the SSE membership database and the annual Evolution meeting. The results indicated that the proportion of invited women speakers at conferences is higher when there are more women among the organizers and when organizers consider gender when choosing speakers. SSE will use the findings from this study to better engage a diversity of scientists at future meetings. Read the full paper here.

Due to space constraints at the venue, there will be limited spots to register for Evolution 2018.  Please see the message below from the organizers:

General registration for the second Joint Conference on Evolutionary Biology (Montpellier 2018) will open on April 10th 5pm Central European Summer Time (11am EST).  We will then apply a first-come, first-served rule independently of whether people are presenting or not. We expect the cap to be reached very quickly once registration is open for all. Prepare your registration in advance to speed up the process.

http://evolutionmontpellier2018.org/prepare-your-registration

On April 10th, the registration department will be on duty until 12am (midnight, Central European Summer Time) to answer your queries if you experience difficulties in registering. Then the service will close for a few hours and reopen on April 11th 9am(Central European Summer Time): you can register while the service is closed but specific queries can be answered only during times where it is open.

We will maintain a waiting list for registration and will inform persons on the list as cancellations of registered participants occur.

Looking forward welcoming you in Montpellier.

The SSE Council invites proposals for two SSE-sponsored symposia to be held in conjunction with the 2019 annual meeting in Providence, RI. The Council considers the novelty of the topic and likely interest among its members. We encourage proposals from sub-fields or taxonomic groups that have been underrepresented in past symposia. Please note: The SSE Council considers the diversity of participants as an important criterion for symposium selection. Proposals are due July 15, 2018. Learn more about the selection process and how to submit your proposal here.

It’s never too early to start thinking about the next Evolution meeting! Next year’s meeting with SSE, ASN, and SSB will be in Providence, RI on June 21-25. Keep an eye out for the call for symposium proposals - coming soon!

Continue reading for a special note about the graduate/postdoc travel awards from SSE and ASN for Evolution 2018 in Montpellier:

This year's annual meeting with ASN, SSB, and ESEB has received more than 3500 applications for talks and posters. Concerns have been raised that the number of abstract submissions is many more than can be accommodated (800 talks and 1200 posters), which could lead to a large number of members being unable to present. Continue reading for a letter from SSE, ASN, and SSB presidents regarding these concerns.

Abstract submissions for Evolution 2018 in Montpellier have reopened for today only! They close again on January 18 at 9:00 am Central European Time. If you weren't able to submit an abstract, now is your chance. Visit the meeting website to submit an abstract.

We are happy to announce that abstract submission is now open for next year's 2nd Joint Congress on Evolutionary Biology in Montpellier, France (18-22 August 2018). Joint Congresses take place every six years and bring together four of the world's largest academic societies in the field of evolutionary biology: the European Society for Evolutionary Biology, the American Society of Naturalists, the Society for the Study of Evolution and the Society of Systematic Biologists.

Following the traditional format of ESEB conferences, all contributed talks and posters will be submitted to specific symposia and selected on the basis of their abstract by symposium organizers.

These stipends support attendance at the conference for scientists at various stages of their professional career (e.g., Masters/PhD students, postdocs, and lecturers). You must be a member of the SSE. Those working in countries with high GDP are not eligible. For additional information and the application procedure, consult the SSE International Committee page. Deadline for application is January 31, 2018.

Graduate student and postdoc members of the SSE can request to be considered for one of 100 $500 US travel awards SSE will be providing for the 2018 Joint Congress in Montpellier.