Ecological Dissertations in the Aquatic Sciences (Eco-DÂS) continues the series of symposia established through the DIALOG (Dissertations Initiative for the Advancement of Limnology and Oceanography) program, but takes that series in new directions. Key elements of Eco-DÂS include:
1) Fostering sustained, cross-disciplinary interactions among the top new researchers in ecological oceanography and limnology. 2) Increasing the success rate of new researchers seeking funding to build their research programs, by familiarizing them with the diversity of available research opportunities, and introducing them to representatives of funding agencies with whom they will interact in future. 3) Increasing the likelihood of professional success for these new researchers by highlighting their initial work through high-visibility, open-access publication of a formal symposium proceedings volume; focusing that volume on interdisciplinary and collaborative aspects of their work; and establishing mentoring relationships between participants and established scientists. 4) Enhancing U.S. science through preferential selection of participants who are current U.S. residents, or demonstrably have specific plans to conduct research in the U.S. or with U.S. scientists in the near future.
There will be three symposia at roughly 24 month intervals, the first - Eco-DÂS VIII to be held in October 2008. The following two will be held in fall 2010 and fall 2012. The Eco-DÂS symposium series will be held at the East-West Center immediately adjacent to the University of Hawai`i, Mânoa campus. The East-West Center conference facility is physically designed to facilitate workshops and conferences in which communication and interaction are particularly important. It is conveniently located near the internationally recognized School of Earth and Ocean Science and Technology (SOEST). Two other symposium series, the Dissertations Symposium on Chemical Oceanography (DISCO) and the Physical Oceanography Dissertation Symposium (PODS), have employed this venue with great success. The facility can easily accommodate symposium participants as well as mentors and observers, and provides for breakout rooms for focus groups.
The broader impacts are significant and far reaching. The symposium series will encourage and foster interdisciplinary collaborations among early career scientists from diverse subdisciplines, to the benefit of both the science and the researchers. The symposium series will also provide valuable feedback to funding agencies. The symposium participants represent the latest additions to the national research effort and are likely to become leading scientists in future. They will be challenged to identify needs and recommend directions for future research in ecological oceanography and limnology. Furthermore, a professional evaluation will assess whether the symposium series has achieved its objectives. Evaluation will include tracking of participants throughout the course of the proposed program (and ideally, over a longer period), and evaluating their professional success, their interactions with other participants, and the impact of the symposium series on the fields of ecological oceanography and limnology.
