Spring 2007, Vol. 3, No. 2 | Index

It is a busy and exciting time at the MBL. I have just returned from Washington, D.C., where the MBL announced, along with some of the world’s leading biodiversity institutions, the launch of the Encyclopedia of Life (EOL), an unprecedented global effort to document all 1.8 million named species of animals, plants, and other forms of life on Earth, and to make the information available on an open-access website. The MBL Bioinformatics Team led by David “Paddy” Patterson is a key player in the project, developing the software “backbone” that will seamlessly aggregate data from thousands of websites into species pages in the Encyclopedia of Life website. To date, more than 500 English language news stories on the EOL have been published and, internationally, the story has appeared in nearly 20 languages in more than 40 countries. In addition, the EOL website (hosted by MBL servers) is receiving 350,000 to 400,000 page requests per day. I am honored to be a part of this project as a member of both the EOL Distinguished Advisory Board and Steering Committee and look forward to the continued evolution of this groundbreaking effort.

Here in Woods Hole we have enjoyed a successful spring conference season, hosting hundreds of national and international scientists from a variety of disciplines. Now, as our spring conference season winds down, we are ramping up for the start of our 2007 courses, most of which will be in full swing in just a few weeks. This summer 461 students from 32 countries will come to the MBL to experience our discovery-oriented, cutting edge courses taught by the world’s best scientists.

Meanwhile, Whitman Investigators are beginning to arrive for another productive summer of research at the MBL. This year they will be moving into their labs in the newly renovated Rowe Laboratory. Our director of facilities, Richard Cutler and his staff have done an outstanding job ensuring the timely completion of this new state-of-the-art building and are working hard to make sure that each individual lab is outfitted to meet scientists’ needs. We will officially rededicate the building as the Rowe Laboratory on August 3rd.

Each one of you plays an important role creating the unique, collaborative, and productive environment that the MBL provides for so many students and scientists each summer. As you prepare for the busy season ahead, I thank you for your hard work and dedication.

Gary Borisy

Director & CEO

The Collecting Net is an employee newsletter published by the Communications Office. Comments and suggestions are welcome. Call (508) 289-7423 or e-mail us at