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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><b>2012 Smithsonian Botanical Symposium<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b>20-21 April 2012<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class=MsoNormal>National Museum of Natural History<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><b>“Transforming 21<sup>st</sup> Century Comparative Biology using Evolutionary Trees”<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class=MsoNormal>In collaboration with the United States Botanic Garden<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Supported by the Cuatrecasas Family Foundation<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Over the last 20 years great progress has been made toward assembling a phylogeny of life on Earth and our expanding knowledge of evolutionary relationships is transforming 21<sup>st</sup> century biology. This is especially true in comparative biology where phylogenetic methods and trees – usually based on molecular data which is increasingly of genomics scale – are proving effective tools to reveal new and often unexpected insights into how organisms evolve and adapt to their environments. These advances span new important questions and enable a fresh look at old questions that include: diversification, role of extinction, response to climate change, co-evolution, the influence of genetic architecture on morphological evolution, and patterns of community assembly and interaction.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The 10<sup>th</sup> Smithsonian Botanical Symposium, hosted by the Department of Botany and the United States Botanic Garden, will address the question: <i>How do we put the knowledge of evolutionary relationships to work to better describe and understand the diversification of life on Earth? </i>The invited speakers will cover a wide range of organisms and topics to illuminate how molecular phylogenetics can be used to understand evolutionary and ecological processes.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><b>Symposium speakers<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraph style='text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-family:Symbol'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>·<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]>David D. Ackerly, University of California, Berkeley<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoListParagraph style='text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-family:Symbol'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>·<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]>Charles F. Delwiche, University of Maryland<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoListParagraph style='text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-family:Symbol'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>·<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]>Michael Donoghue, Yale University<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoListParagraph style='text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-family:Symbol'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>·<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]>Scott V. Edwards, Harvard University<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoListParagraph style='text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-family:Symbol'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>·<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]>James W. Horn, National Museum of Natural History<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoListParagraph style='text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-family:Symbol'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>·<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]>Karen Osborn, National Museum of Natural History<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoListParagraph style='text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-family:Symbol'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>·<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]>Richard Ree, The Field Museum<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Information and registration at <a href="http://botany.si.edu/sbs/">http://botany.si.edu/sbs/</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Fax: 202-786-2563 – e-mail: <a href="mailto:sbs@si.edu">sbs@si.edu</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Registration is now open<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>