This action funds three regional workshops for undergraduate and graduate students with the ultimate goal of developing a diversified workforce in fields of biology severely devoid of participants and leaders from under-represented groups. These fields include paleobiology and organismal, evolutionary and environmental biology. These fields taken together can be viewed as the biodiversity research community who are expected to be served by the NSF-funded National Resource for Advancing Digitization of Biodiversity Collections (ADBC). Through ADBC, data and images for millions of biological specimens are being made available in electronic format for the research community, government agencies, students, educators, and the general public. Lack of participation by scientists from under-represented groups in this activity is the impetus for the workshops to reach students as they make their career choices.
The vision for ADBC is a permanent database of digitized information from all biological collections in the U.S. that will lead to new discoveries through research and better understanding and appreciation of biodiversity through improved education and outreach, which will result in improved environmental and economic policies. These workshops promise to broaden participation in this ongoing national research resource.
