Since 2005 the Paleobiology Database has conducted a five-week intensive training workshop in analytical methods. Previous workshops were held at the University of California's National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis in Santa Barbara. Funds are being sought to hold the workshop again in 2010, this time at Macquarie University in Sydney starting immediately after the Third International Paleontological Congress.
Topics include community paleoecology, diversity estimation, speciation and extinction, phylogenetics, phenotypic evolution, and morphometrics. Both simulation modelling and data analysis methods are employed. Training combines lectures and labs. Participants are given hands-on instruction in programming using R and taught to use other analytical software. In addition to the workshop coordinator, each week a new instructor is present.
The 2009 instructors were John Alroy, Gene Hunt, Tom Olszewski, Pete Wagner, and Mark Webster.
There is no fee for registration, and participants are housed for free in accommodations off campus. If necessary, reimbursements for travel will be made up to a limit that should cover most costs. Participants are responsible for meal expenses. There are no other charges of any kind, and no other major expenses are likely.
If the workshop is offered again, the application deadline is likely to be 15 February, and the official announcement is likely to be in the late fall. Here is some additional information in case you are considering applying.
Participants are normally in the early stages of their own research in any area related to paleontology. They should have a background in basic statistics, and preferably also programming. We also strongly encourage applications from women, minorities, and international students.
Applications consist of a one page statement accompanied by a recommendation letter. The statement should include a brief description of current research plans, a list of degrees earned stating the year of graduation in each case, a brief list of relevant classes taken, and an account of the applicant's background in statistics and programming. Applicants are encouraged to explain why the topics addressed by the workshop are of special interest to them, and which of these subjects are taught at their home institutions.
2009 participants
| Mark Bell | University of Bristol |
| Katie Collins | University of Wellington |
| Federico Degrange | Museo de La Plata |
| Aaron House | University of Cincinnati |
| Annie Lagomarcino | University of Cincinnati |
| Kaitlin Maguire | University of California, Berkeley |
| Felix Marx | University of Bristol |
| Heike Mewis | Museum für Naturkunde |
| Gary Motz | University of Akron |
| Alejo Scarano | Museo de La Plata |
| Amelinda Webb | Yale University |
| Shawn Whiteman | University of New Mexico |
2008 participants
| Tracy Aze | Cardiff University |
| Karen Bacon | University College Dublin |
| Diego Balseiro | Universidad Nacional de Córdoba |
| Javier Echevarria | Museo de La Plata |
| Liz Freedman | Montana State University |
| Michelle Lawing | Indiana University |
| Emily Lindsey | University of California, Berkeley |
| Luis Felipe Opazo | University of Plymouth |
| Juan José Rustan | Universidad Nacional de Córdoba |
| Daniel Thomas | University of Otago |
| Michael Tuite | University of Virginia |
| Laura Wilson | Universität Zürich |
2007 participants
| Andrea Cobbett | University of Bath |
| Felipe de la Parra | University of Florida |
| Kathy Hollis | University of Colorado, Boulder |
| Philip Jardine | University of Birmingham |
| Soïzic Le Fur | Université de Poitiers |
| Graeme Lloyd | University of Bristol |
| Murat Maga | University of Texas, Austin |
| John Orcutt | University of Oregon |
| Claire Samant | Université de Poitiers |
| Susan Standen | Case Western Reserve University |
| Susumu Tomiya | University of California, Berkeley |
| Vera Weisbecker | University of New South Wales |
2006 participants
| Ayse Atakul | Middle East Technical University | |
| Mara Brady | University of Chicago | |
| Andres Cardenas | University of South Florida | |
| Brad Deline | University of Cincinnati | |
| Jessica Gilner | Florida Institute of Technology | |
| Ann Goewert | University of North Carolina | |
| Stephen Goodyear | University of Texas, Austin | |
| Sarah Kolbe | University of Copenhagen | |
| Sarda Sahney | University of Bristol | |
| Krister Smith | Yale University | |
| Bryan Valencia | Florida Institute of Technology | |
| Richard Wilkinson | Cambridge University | |
2005 participants
| Jessica Blois | Stanford University | |
| Devin Buick | University of Cincinnati | |
| Sylvain Gerber | Université de Bourgogne | |
| Zack Krug | Penn State University | |
| Elise Nardin | Université de Bourgogne | |
| Mike Nowak | Duke University | |
| Matt O'Donnell | Penn State University | |
| Jocelyn Sessa | Penn State University | |
| Adam Tomasovych | Universität Würzburg | |
| Patrick Wall | Syracuse University | |
| Mike Weiser | University of Arizona | |
