IOP NEWSLETTER 80 July 2006 ____________________ CONTENTS ____________________ LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT IOP IN THE 21ST CENTURY FORTHCOMING IOP ELECTIONS ESTABLISHMENT OF THE BOULTER STUDENT TRAVEL AWARD MEETING ANNOUNCEMENTS POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT CONGRATULATIONS PRESENTATION OF GIFT BOOK REVIEW FUNDING ENDOWED PALEOBOTANY CHAIR AT CLEVELAND MUSEUM ANNOUNCEMENT OF PASSING OBITUARY CHANGES OF ADDRESS _____________________________________ The views expressed in the newsletter are those of its correspondents, and do not necessarily reflect the policy of IOP. President: Margaret Collinson (UK) Vice Presidents: Mikhail Akhmetiev (Russia), Zlatko Kvaček (Czech Republic), Volker Mosbrugger (Germany) Secretary: Gar Rothwell (USA) Conference/Congress Member: Hans Kerp (Germany) __________________________________________________________________________________________ IOP 80 Page 1 July 2006 LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT • To provide some interesting palaeobotanical (including announcement of a new IOP web site) content to help promote palaeobotany to a wider audience. Dear members, fellow palaeobotanists, colleagues and, • To provide links to other web sites, where most of all, friends around the world, appropriate. These may include: • Key links for palaebotanists. I apologise for my silence since I was elected your • The site of the plant-fossil database. President. It is a great honour to serve in this role and I • Sites of other organisations of sincerely thank everyone for considering me worthy of palaeobotanists e.g. country or regional this position. Behind the scenes I have been active, and groups. with the support of the Secretary and the executive • Links to key palaeobotanical committee, I have been promoting an attempt to provide publications. an up to date web site which will contain key information of relevance to all of us. I am, therefore, Intentions for IOP website management and delighted to bring you news of the new IOP website at: longevity: http://www.palaeobotany.org • To develop a website that is easy to manage and update. This has been enabled by the design of a At this time I would like to explain the rationale behind database driven website with simple to use web the changes, and, in doing so recognise the growing interface for remote access anywhere in the importance of the internet as the premier method of world. communication available to an organisation such as ours • To have a website that allows multiple at the present time. In the past the IOP has had its web- administrators to avoid it becoming the presence on the domains of host institutions, for which responsibility of a sole individual. This has been we are immensely grateful to both Mike Boulter and Gar achieved with Gar Rothwell (Secretary and for the efforts they have put into this. However, time has Treasurer), Jason Hilton and Mihai Popa having come to establish a domain name (palaeobotany.org) administrative control of the site, with all being which is unique to the organisation making us easier to able to update contents. It is possible to add find on the internet. The domain name belongs to the other administrators with suitable experience as IOP and over time it can be migrated onto different required by the IOP executive committee. servers as technology develops, or, can be administrated • To facilitate secure transactions to enable credit by other individuals in time without having to change the card payments of membership fees. The server url. will handle this. This part of the website has not been put live at the present time as it is The initial aims of the site are twofold, one for contents, undergoing testing and, the bank support for this and, the other for management and website longevity:- is currently being considered. Aims for website contents: The IOP Executive would like to thank Jason Hilton and • To provide a home for IOP organisational his former student Alan Spencer whose hard work has information including contact details for the brought the new site into being. We also thank Jason and organisation, details of how to join, listing of Mihai Popa for volunteering to act as web masters for executive committee members, and IOP. At the same time, we hope that other content and organisational statutes. ideas will readily be forthcoming from members of the • To make all back issues of the Newsletter IOP - this is your site and will only succeed with input available to everyone. from the membership. In particular we welcome details • To promote IOP and other palaeobotany of forthcoming meetings of interest to the IOP, and also meetings that are brought to our attention we would welcome information on job opportunities to through advertised contents and links to other advertise to the membership. Take a look at the site and websites. if you have something to add to the sections, please send it along. __________________________________________________________________________________________ IOP 80 Page 2 July 2006 At this early stage we are seeking specific contributions I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible in for the site in the following themes of palaeobotanical Prague at the EPPC this summer. interest: Living fossils Margaret Collinson, President Palaeobotanical pioneers (deceased) These themes have been suggested and agreed by IOP IN THE 21ST CENTURY myself, Jason and Gar, as topics of interest to a wider audience which will, hopefully, lead to broader At the General Council Meeting held during the 7th awareness of palaeobotany and its achievements as well International Organisation of Palaeobotany conference in as being of interest to our members. These are Bariloche, Argentina in March of 2005, the membership subsections of the website and will, we hope, grow over brought to a close a two-year process of renewing IOP time into a valuable resource. A number of contributions practices and procedures by ratifying revised Statutes have already been solicited and are currently being and By-Laws. This revision formalized evolving developed by individual authors, but in addition to this practices that reflect our changing world, and can be we welcome further contents. Individual articles should found at be fairly short (e.g. preferably less than 1 page of A4), <http://www.palaeobotany.org/modules.php?name=iop& should include a few relevant references and, preferably, sec=website&page=5>. Some of the changes are be accompanied by one or more relevant images. It is the explained by IOP President Margaret Collinson in the responsibility of the author to ensure that none of the article that appears directly above. Others are reviewed submitted material is subject to copyright and that it can below. be freely made available on the web for use by anyone. However, before spending time developing specific IOP has now fully embraced digital technology by contents, please discuss these with the relevant sectional developing a modern, interactive web site that is administrator (as shown on the homepage of each independent of other organizations, by publishing IOP section; Pioneering Palaeobotanists or Living Fossils) to Newsletters on the web and distributing them via the avoid duplication of efforts. internet, and by conducting virtually all business via e- mail. IOP also conducted our last elections It is important that everyone should appreciate that the electronically. Electronic IOP elections balloting is a IOP web site is not the place to promote individual pioneering change in practice, that was accomplished living palaeobotanists nor particular palaeobotanical without incident. It allows for smooth and secure laboratories. Contributions that appear to do this will be participation by a larger percentage of the membership returned to the author for re-consideration or than for past elections. It also continues the practice of modification. Everyone is welcome to send with their hard-copy ballot submission by those who wished to contribution links to their own websites (personal, vote in the traditional fashion. laboratory, institution), with a few words introducing the content, and we will add that link to the IOP pages. You will note from Margaret's letter, the new URL for the IOP website is <http://www.palaeobotany.org>. While the committee have decided that these two Our new webmasters, Jason Hilton and Miahi Popa, sections are the priority for the IOP website right now , have developed an outstanding, interactive website for we will very much welcome any ideas for developing IOP, and are including a great deal of information for us other areas of the website. Maybe a ‘Palaeobotany in the at the site. IOP now owns the web address news’ section? "palaeobotany.org". We will be following the practice of observing a one-issue moving firewall, wherein the I sincerely hope that you will all welcome the new paid membership will receive each new Newsletter as it website, that you will find it useful and that you will is published, and past issues will be posted on the web contribute to its success by sending in your links and site for public viewing. The old web sites at the short articles. Please direct any specific comments on University of London and at Ohio University are being the web pages to Jason Hilton or Mihai Popa using retired, but will remain active for a few more months. the contact details as shown on the web site or contact any member of the IOP Executive committee. Gar Rothwell, Secretary __________________________________________________________________________________________ IOP 80 Page 3 July 2006