new funding for Planetary Biodiversity Inventories

[Platnick, Norman I.]

Colleagues:  May I please draw your attention to the new program
announcement (NSF 02-186) for the (re-named) Biodiversity Surveys and
Inventories (BS&I) program at the (U.S.) National Science Foundation, which
can be found on the NSF website at
www.nsf.gov/pubs/2002/nsf02186/nsf02186.htm
<http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2002/nsf02186/nsf02186.htm>

In particular, please note the included support for Planetary Biodiversity
Inventories (PBI):  Mission to an (almost) unknown planet, a joint
initiative of the ALL Species Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation,
and the National Science Foundation:

"Proposals are invited from teams of investigators to conduct a worldwide,
species-level systematic inventory of an entire major group of organisms.
Each project will be expected to conduct the fieldwork necessary to fill
gaps in existing collections, to produce descriptions, revisions, web pages,
and interactive keys (or other automated identification tools) for all new
and known species in the targeted group, to analyze their phylogenetic
relationships, and to establish predictive classifications for them.
Proposals may target any particular group of organisms, from terrestrial,
fresh-water, or marine habitats, at any feasible level in the taxonomic
hierarchy, but must be global in scope. Assuming a sufficient number of
high-quality proposals and the availability of funds, we anticipate making
ca. 2-6 PBI awards, with durations from 3-5 years, totaling about $14
million over the five-year period."

PBI teams are expected to be highly international; non-U.S. scientists
interested in participating should contact their U.S. colleagues quickly to
begin planning for such projects.  The program announcement includes details
on the next target dates for proposals (Jan. 10, 2003, for BS&I and PBI, and
July 10, 2003, for BS&I only), as well as the significantly expanded scope
and budget of the BS&I program.

Dr. Norman I. Platnick
Program Director, Biodiversity Surveys and Inventories
Program Officer, Systematic Biology
Division of Environmental Biology
National Science Foundation
4201 Wilson Blvd., Suite 635
Arlington, VA 22230

phone: 703-292-7121
FAX: 703-292-9064
email:  nplatnic at nsf.gov
  Note:  no final k, 8 characters only!

Please note the new target dates:
  Jan. 10, 2003 (for BS&I and Planetary Biodiversity Inventories)
  July 10, 2003 (for BS&I only) .. for details see NSF 02-186