SCB Activities

NOTE: As many of you may be aware, the SCB websites experienced unusual downtime over the last few weeks. Our websites are now live and available to serve you; however many pages are still offline and will not load correctly (you will see an error that reads "The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect" -- we are aware of these problems. We are dealing with a SQL Injection attack. These types of attacks are known to exploit website vulnerabilities with the intent of distributing viruses and malware. We are working to correct the problems and clean up the data corruption this has caused. Thank you for your patience while we work through this problem. More information is available here.

Student Activities

Students are especially welcome at annual meetings of the Society for Conservation Biology. SCB's Student Affairs Committee facilitates numerous opportunities for interaction with professionals, networking among students, and contributing to the success of the meeting itself. Several of the events listed below will require advance registration, but will be free of charge to current students.

Student Awards

Each year, SCB administers a Student Awards program, with prizes that include cash and books. All student authors of 15-minute contributed papers are eligible to enter the award competition.

Finalists for the 2006 Student Awards will present their papers in a special dedicated session on the afternoon of Monday 26 June. In addition to presentations by student award finalists, the session will feature presentations by two recipients of SCB's 2006 Distinguished Service awards, Dee Boersma and Javier Simonetti. At 3:00 P.M., Dee, who also is Past President of SCB, will present "What we learn from natural history of penguins." At 5:30 P.M., Javier, who also is Past President of the Austral and Neotropical America Section of SCB, will present "Cats? No way! Can we conserve biodiversity in rural landscapes?" These sessions will be moderated by SCB Past Presidents Mac Hunter and Deborah Jensen.

Smith Fellows

SCB leads the David H. Smith Conservation Research Fellowship Program, a postdoctoral fellowship program established to help address the pressing need for scientifically validated approaches to identify critical conservation areas and to conserve biodiversity at priority sites. Past and current Smith Fellows will present their research in a special session, open to all meeting participants, on the morning of 26 June. More information about the fellowship program will be available at the SCB booth in the exhibition area.

Student Lounge

A comfortable place to unwind with old and new friends and to hold small-group meetings. A bulletin board for job postings and other announcements will be available.

Welcome Social

Students are invited to join SCB's Board of Governors and staff for an informal social hour on the evening of 24 June, preceding the opening plenary and reception.

Publication Workshop for Students

Gary Meffe, Editor of Conservation Biology, will lead a noon workshop on the publication process and preparation of manuscripts for peer-reviewed scientific journals. To keep this workshop relatively small and interactive, attendance will be limited to current students.

Lunch with the Board of Governors

Gather information on alternative conservation professions, learn about SCB initiatives and operations, and discuss your priorities and ideas with SCB's governors and staff.

Topic Area Lunch

A chance to interact informally with other SCB members who have similar disciplinary interests. This event is not restricted to students; it is open to all meeting attendees. Active SCB Working Groups on social sciences and freshwater conservation already have emerged from topic area lunches at previous annual meetings.