The XVI International Botanical Congress (16th IBC) is held under the auspices of the International Union of Biological Sciences, and meets every 5-6 years, most recently (1993) in Tokyo. The 16th IBC, the last this century, will meet in St. Louis, in August 1999, and is expected to host 5,000 or more plant scientists from around the world. Recent past congresses have been relatively inaccessible to persons of more modest means such as students and scientists from developing countries. The NSF grant will support travel costs for Congress attendees and participants from the two targeted groups, young U.S. scientists and scientists from developing countries. The goal is to make the 16th IBC an interdisciplinary conference that will provide unique opportunities for U.S. and foreign scientists to meet and initiate collaborations and partnerships across a broad spectrum of modern plant sciences. A comprehensive program of symposia and other presentations has been developed, focusing on six broad themes: biological diversity (systematics and evolution); ecology, environment, and conservation; structure, development, and cellular biology; genetics and genomics; physiology and biochemistry; and plant biotechnology. Convenors and keynote speakers include leading scientists from around the world active in all of these areas of research and education. Special efforts have been made to involve Canadian and Mexican scientists in the overall organization of the congress, and foreign scientists participate with U.S. counterparts in the organization of nearly every keynote symposium. The organizers have established a website to help disseminate information about the Congress and to encourage as great participation as possible (www.ibc99.org).
