Ebbe Nielsen Prize

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The Ebbe Nielsen Prize was an international science award made annually between 2002 and 2014 by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), to recognize a researcher who had made substantial contributions to the field of biodiversity informatics. The prize was established in memory of prominent entomologist and biodiversity informatics proponent Ebbe Nielsen, who died of a heart attack in the U.S.A. en route to the 2001 GBIF Governing Board meeting.

Contents

History

The award was created in 2001 to honour the recently deceased Danish-Australian entomologist Ebbe Nielsen, who was a keen proponent of both GBIF and the biodiversity informatics discipline. [1] At the time of its creation, the prize was the only global award for work in biodiversity. [2] Initially set at US$35,000 [3] and later €30,000, the award comprised a cash prize plus an invitation to give a guest lecture to address the annual meeting of the governing body of GBIF in whichever country the meeting was being held for that year. In its 2003 call for submissions, the prize was stated as being "[awarded] annually, to a promising researcher, normally within ten years of their entering the research field of biodiversity informatics. Candidates should be combining biodiversity informatics and biosystematic research in novel and exciting ways ... The primary selection criterion is scientific excellence as evidenced by the nominee’s research and publication record, and in particular, the innovation shown in combining biosystematics and biodiversity informatics research in their field of activity." [3] Over the life of the prize, it was won by researchers from Japan, Germany, Sweden, Argentina, United States (twice), Australia (twice), United Kingdom, Colombia, Canada, Denmark and Portugal. [4]

In 2015, GBIF revamped the award as an incentive competition, now known as the Ebbe Nielsen Challenge. [5]

List of recipients from 2002–2014

The following list of recipients is given on the GBIF web site: [4]

Related Research Articles

Ebbe Schmidt Nielsen was a Danish entomologist influential in systematics and Lepidoptera research, and an early proponent of biodiversity informatics. The journal Invertebrate Systematics was established with significant contributions from Nielsen, and he assisted in the founding of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). Nielsen wrote several books, published over eighty scientific papers, and was highly regarded within the scientific community. Following his death, the GBIF organised the Ebbe Nielsen Prize in his memory, awarded annually to promising researchers in the field of biodiversity informatics. The moth Pollanisus nielseni is named after Nielsen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Global Biodiversity Information Facility</span> Aggregator of scientific data on biodiversity; data portal

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Biodiversity informatics is the application of informatics techniques to biodiversity information, such as taxonomy, biogeography or ecology. It is defined as the application of Information technology technologies to management, algorithmic exploration, analysis and interpretation of primary data regarding life, particularly at the species level organization. Modern computer techniques can yield new ways to view and analyze existing information, as well as predict future situations. Biodiversity informatics is a term that was only coined around 1992 but with rapidly increasing data sets has become useful in numerous studies and applications, such as the construction of taxonomic databases or geographic information systems. Biodiversity informatics contrasts with "bioinformatics", which is often used synonymously with the computerized handling of data in the specialized area of molecular biology.

C-squares is a system of spatially unique, location-based identifiers (geocodes) for areas on the surface of the earth, represented as cells from a latitude- and longitude-based Discrete Global Grid at a hierarchical set of resolution steps, obtained by progressively subdividing 10×10 degree World Meteorological Organization squares; the term "c-square" is also available for use to designate any component cell of the grid. Individual cell identifiers incorporate literal values of latitude and longitude in an interleaved notation, together with additional digits that support intermediate grid resolutions of 5, 0.5, 0.05 degrees, etc.

The Catalogue of Life is an online database that provides an index of known species of animals, plants, fungi, and microorganisms. It was created in 2001 as a partnership between the global Species 2000 and the American Integrated Taxonomic Information System. The Catalogue is used by research scientists, citizen scientists, educators, and policy makers. The Catalogue is also used by the Biodiversity Heritage Library, the Barcode of Life Data System, Encyclopedia of Life, and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility. The Catalogue currently compiles data from 165 peer-reviewed taxonomic databases that are maintained by specialist institutions around the world. As of September 2022, the COL Checklist lists 2,067,951 of the world's 2.2m extant species known to taxonomists on the planet at present time.

Mathis Wackernagel is a Swiss-born sustainability advocate. He is President of Global Footprint Network, an international sustainability think tank with offices in Oakland, California, and Geneva, Switzerland. The think-tank is a non-profit that focuses on developing and promoting metrics for sustainability.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Søren Brunak</span> Danish bioinformatics professor, scientist

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A taxonomic database is a database created to hold information on biological taxa – for example groups of organisms organized by species name or other taxonomic identifier – for efficient data management and information retrieval. Taxonomic databases are routinely used for the automated construction of biological checklists such as floras and faunas, both for print publication and online; to underpin the operation of web-based species information systems; as a part of biological collection management ; as well as providing, in some cases, the taxon management component of broader science or biology information systems. They are also a fundamental contribution to the discipline of biodiversity informatics.

Plazi is a Swiss-based international non-profit association supporting and promoting the development of persistent and openly accessible digital bio-taxonomic literature. Plazi is cofounder of the Biodiversity Literature Repository and is maintaining this digital taxonomic literature repository at Zenodo to provide access to FAIR data converted from taxonomic publications using the TreatmentBank service, enhances submitted taxonomic treatments by creating a version in the XML format Taxpub, and educates about the importance of maintaining open access to scientific discourse and data. It is a contributor to the evolving e-taxonomy in the field of Biodiversity Informatics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AquaMaps</span>

AquaMaps is a collaborative project with the aim of producing computer-generated predicted global distribution maps for marine species on a 0.5 × 0.5 degree grid of the oceans based on data available through online species databases such as FishBase and SeaLifeBase and species occurrence records from OBIS or GBIF and using an environmental envelope model in conjunction with expert input. The underlying model represents a modified version of the relative environmental suitability (RES) model developed by Kristin Kaschner to generate global predictions of marine mammal occurrences.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Pyle</span> American ichthyologist and scuba diver

Richard Lawrence Pyle is a scuba diver and ichthyologist working on Hawaii.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera</span> Taxonomic database

The Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera (IRMNG) is a taxonomic database which attempts to cover published genus names for all domains of life, from 1758 in zoology up to the present, arranged in a single, internally consistent taxonomic hierarchy, for the benefit of Biodiversity Informatics initiatives plus general users of biodiversity (taxonomic) information. In addition to containing just over 500,000 published genus name instances as at May 2023, the database holds over 1.7 million species names, although this component of the data is not maintained in as current or complete state as the genus-level holdings. IRMNG can be queried online for access to the latest version of the dataset and is also made available as periodic snapshots or data dumps for import/upload into other systems as desired. The database was commenced in 2006 at the then CSIRO Division of Marine and Atmospheric Research in Australia and, since 2016, has been hosted at the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) in Belgium.

The Ebbe Nielsen Challenge is an international science competition conducted annually from 2015 onwards by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), with a set of cash prizes that recognize researcher(s)' submissions in creating software or approaches that successfully address a GBIF-issued challenge in the field of biodiversity informatics. It succeeds the Ebbe Nielsen Prize, which was awarded annually by GBIF between 2002 and 2014. The name of the challenge honours the memory of prominent entomologist and biodiversity informatics proponent Ebbe Nielsen, who died of a heart attack in the U.S.A. en route to the 2001 GBIF Governing Board meeting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Rees (scientist)</span>

Anthony J. J. ("Tony") Rees is a British-born software developer, data manager and biologist resident in Australia since 1986, and previously a data manager with CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research. He is responsible for developing a number of software systems currently used in science data management and biodiversity informatics, including c-squares, Taxamatch, and IRMNG, the Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera. He has also been closely involved with the development of other biodiversity informatics initiatives including the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS), AquaMaps, and the iPlant Taxonomic Name Resolution Service (TNRS). Prior to his involvement in data management, he worked as a light and electron microscopist studying freshwater and marine phytoplankton, and microfossils.

Vince Smith is a British entomologist and biodiversity informatician at the Natural History Museum, London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexandre Antonelli</span> Brazilian scientist

Alexandre Antonelli is Director of Science at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK, Professor of Biodiversity and Systematic at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, and Visiting Professor at the University of Oxford. He is a biodiversity scientist working to understand the evolution and distribution of the diversity of life on Earth and how best to protect and sustainably use it. His first popular science book, The Hidden Universe: Adventures in Biodiversity, was published in July 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geoffrey Hawtin</span> 2024 World Food Prize Laureate

Geoffrey Hawtin OBE is an agricultural scientist and World Food Prize laureate who has served in public institutions working in agricultural biodiversity, plant genetic resources, crop breeding and research management. He was awarded an OBE by Queen Elizabeth II and has been recognized for his career "dedicated to using agriculture as a weapon in the war against poverty in developing countries." He played key roles in the creation of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault and the negotiation of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources. He has headed two CGIAR Research Centers and currently is on the Executive Board of the Crop Trust.

References

  1. Kristensen, Niels P. (2001). "Ebbe Schmidt Nielsen 7 June 1950 - 6 March 2001". Nota Lepidopterologica. 24 (3): 3–9.
  2. "Global Biodiversity Information Facility Annual Report 2001-2002" (PDF).
  3. 1 2 "Ebbe Nielsen Prize". Biologue (28). 2003.
  4. 1 2 "Awards". www.gbif.org.
  5. "GBIF Ebbe Nielsen Challenge". GBIF Ebbe Nielsen Challenge.
  6. "OVER SEAS -- February 2002: Coastal Alert". oneocean.org.
  7. uni-bonn.de: Bonner Bienenforscher gewinnt Ebbe Nielsen Preis (in German)
  8. "Global Biodiversity Information Facility Annual Report 2004" (PDF).
  9. "Global Biodiversity Information Facility Annual Report 2005" (PDF).
  10. "04.19.2006 - Awards". www.berkeley.edu.
  11. "Australian wins prestigious prize in biodiversity informatics". EurekAlert!.
  12. Vince Smith (27 November 2008). "Small pieces loosely joined: a unified theory of biodiversity for the…".
  13. "CIAT, May 2009: CIAT researcher wins international award" (PDF).
  14. "BOLD leader wins Ebbe Nielsen Prize - iBOL". ibol.org.
  15. "2011 Ebbe Nielsen Prize winner announced". www.gbif.org.
  16. "Plant data helps climate models - GBIF award winner". www.gbif.org.
  17. "Miguel Araújo receives the GIBIF 2013 Ebbe Nielsen Prize". www.maraujolab.com.
  18. "Think bigger, GBIF award winner urges biologists". www.gbif.org.
  19. GBIF (30 October 2013). "2013 Ebbe Nielsen Prize Winner presentation during the GBIF Science Symposium" via Vimeo.
  20. "GBIF has awarded its 2014 Ebbe Nielsen Prize to Tony Rees". www.marinespecies.org.
  21. GBIF (26 September 2014). "Tony Rees 2014 Ebbe Nielsen Prize Presentation" via Vimeo.