Humanistic Uses of Herbaria

https://www.nybg.org/?p=71912&post_type=event&preview=1&_ppp=31e9aa613d

Friday, March 19, 2021, 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Herbaria, or collections of dried plants that usually include information about the place and time of their collection and the identity of the collector, have their roots in the 16th-century and are of vital importance to the study and taxonomy of plants. Recently, they have acquired additional value as tools for tracking biodiversity loss or even as windows into past ecosystems. While their primary purpose is scientific, herbaria also have rich historical and even aesthetic dimensions. This program will focus on the history and relevance of herbarium collections, addressing the contemporary importance of herbaria to science and conservation. Four speakers will explore humanistic angles by engaging with history, the history of the book, art history, and contemporary art, thus placing the discussion at the intersection of the arts and sciences.

Co-presented by the NYBG Humanities Institute and Dumbarton Oaks, in partnership with the NYBG William & Lynda Steere Herbarium

Botany, Trade and Empire: Exploring Kew’s Misc. Reports

https://www.kew.org/science/engage/get-involved/conferences/botany-trade-empire/register

Botany, Trade and Empire: Exploring Kew’s Miscellaneous Reports Collection online conference
2 – 4 March 2021. Please reserve your place by completing the registration form by Wednesday 24 February at 5pm UK time (UTC). For any queries, please email miscreports@kew.org. This conference is free to attend but we welcome your voluntary donations to help support our science and conservation work.

16th Annual Early Career Scientists Symposium

https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/ecss/

16th Annual Early Career Scientists Symposium: A Virtual Symposium held on five consecutive Fridays from 5 March -- 2 April 2021. "Natural History Collections: Drivers of Innovation”

"When biologists think of natural history collections, most tend to think of taxonomy and systematics, yet many are unaware of the uses of biological collections beyond those traditional fields. These studies span the breadth of the tree of life and address broad subjects that span comparative genomics to bioengineering and climate change to historical pathogen dynamics, among many, many more. As stewards of one of the largest university-based biological collections in the world, we are in an extraordinary position to leverage our holdings of biological material from the last century or more. We envision this symposium as a way to showcase the often-unrealized opportunities and non-traditional avenues of research that our collections make possible to the entire scientific community, and emphasize some of the interdisciplinary ways in which our collections are being or could be used. We hope to foster a broader understanding and expanded use of an incomparable resource that the University of Michigan has cultivated for the past two hundred years."