James O'Dwyer

Pleased to announce our 2025 class of Pivot Fellows! These eight researchers will receive financial support to conduct research in a new discipline under the mentorship of an expert: https://www.simonsfoundation.org/2025/11/13/simons-foundation-announces-fourth-class-of-pivot-fellows #science #math

Poster announcing the workshop.

Join us for an @smtpb.bsky.social workshop on Modern Coexistence Theory. We'll cover mathematical foundations, the theory of partitioning, and data-based applications. Featuring @swatipatel.bsky.social, Nick Kortessis, & Lauren Shoemaker. Zoom link here: smtpb.org/event-6426026

YouTube video by SMTPB Reflections on the History of Model and Theory series - Bob Holt

I believe it was updated to a new version and should be available here: m.youtube.com/watch?v=xWmz...

Hope you enjoy it—-there are also several others on the SMTPB channel

Applications for Simons Postdoctoral Fellowships in Plant Biology Now Open Applications for Simons Postdoctoral Fellowships in Plant Biology Now Open on Simons Foundation

Interested in doing a postdoc on fundamental problems in plant biology? Apply for our Simons Postdoctoral Fellowships in Plant Biology. Due 12/4/25: https://www.simonsfoundation.org/2025/10/13/applications-for-simons-postdoctoral-fellowships-in-plant-biology-now-open/ #biology #lifesciences

new paper! this one holds a special place in my heart--it's the project that brought me to South Africa--just a short 6 years later, we have a product

Myrothamnus is a resurrection plant with deep cultural roots. it's been a privilege to study this iconic species that survives with so little.

Trade, Borrow, or Steal: How Acquired Metabolism Drives Evolution Trade, Borrow, or Steal: How Acquired Metabolism Drives Evolution on Simons Foundation

NYC and adjacent friends: I'm thrilled and terrified to be giving a public lecture in Manhattan at 6pm on Wednesday, 19 November. If you feel like coming into the city* for the evening, I'd love to see you there!

*Yes, NYC = "the city" for Jersey girls.

www.simonsfoundation.org/event/trade-...

Assistant Professor- Department of Plant Biology - HigherEdJobs Jobs in higher education. Faculty and administrative positions at colleges and universities. Updated daily. Free to job seekers.

We are coming up on the closing date for an Assistant Professor of Mycology/Plant-fungal Interactions in the Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois - apply before November 1st!
See the link below for more details:
www.higheredjobs.com/faculty/deta...

Another ecology-related faculty position just opened at UIUC, part of a cluster hire in bioeconomics. This one is agroecology in our Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences department, deadline Oct 31.

illinois.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...

🌴Cinoglu et al. show that only small-scale disturbances & subsequent competition for light can stabilize the coexistence of demographic groups along the growth-survival and stature-recruitment trade-off axes @cfarrior.bsky.social 🧪🌎
🔍Article: buff.ly/xgNwK4Q
📰Blog: buff.ly/OTa5VvY

Woot!

How do we measure life on Earth? 🌍🌱 The new summary report from the 2025 US-UK Forum on Measuring Biodiversity, hosted by the NAS and @royalsociety.org, explores tools, challenges, and solutions for tackling the #biodiversity crisis.

Read here: bit.ly/460RB7R

The 2026 Complexity Postdoctoral Fellowships applications are open, offering early-career scholars intellectual freedom, transdisciplinary collaboration with leading researchers, and a competitive salary with research and collaboration funds.

Deadline: Oct 1, 2025
Apply: santafe.edu/sfifellowship

Plant biology at UIUC is hiring. Plant-fungal interactions, details below:

MathJobs from the the American Mathematical Society Mathjobs is an automated job application system sponsored by the AMS.

Open-rank open-area faculty search in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Application deadline: November 3, 2025.

Please share widely!

www.mathjobs.org/jobs/list/26...

Our EEB department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is hiring an assistant professor in evo-devo. See go.illinois.edu/EEBAsstProf for details. Please share!

YouTube video by SMTPB Reflections on Modeling and Theory in Population Biology: Warren Ewens

@sarperotto.bsky.social and I are back for the @smtpb.bsky.social, interviewing Warren Ewens. "Get out of that ivory tower and do something useful" might seem unlikely advice for a mathematical population geneticist, but this was key for Warren. Full interview here:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_K_...

My sister department EEB is hiring an animal evo-devo assistant prof! I'm the plant evo-devo person on the SC and happy to answer any questions! (spoiler alert: This is a GREAT place to be and with fantastic colleagues & support!!!!) @socdevbio.bsky.social
illinois.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...

Collaborate with researchers globally. Chart your transdisciplinary path. Apply to SFI's 2026 Complexity Postdoctoral Fellowships. Competitive pay, research funds, and generous benefits to become a leader in transdisciplinary research.

Deadline: Oct 1, 2025
Apply: santafe.edu/sfifellowship

Become a Radcliffe Fellow | Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University A fellowship year at Harvard Radcliffe Institute is an opportunity to step away from usual routines and dive deeply into a project.

Harvard Radcliffe fellowships open for the 2026/27 academic year:

www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/radcliffe-fe...

Unique opportunity for free-ranging research:

"The Santa Fe Institute Complexity Postdoctoral Fellowships offer early-career scholars the opportunity to undertake independent research...about the complex systems that matter most for science and society".

apply-sfi.smapply.org/prog/complex...

Excited to report that Joy Bergelson (bergelsonlab.org) and I will be running a brand new GRC conference on the Function of Evolving Systems in the summer of 2026. The 2028 one will be chaired by Mikhail Tikhonov (physics.wustl.edu/people/mikha...) and @asanchezlab.bsky.social! Stay tuned!

Evolutionary Games: Mathematical Theory and Biological Insights

I am really happy to share that there will be a @nitmb.bsky.social workshop next year on mathematical and biological features of evolutionary game theory.

It was really fun to co-organize this workshop with Olivia Chu, Alex McAvoy, and @jplotkin.bsky.social.

www.nitmb.org/evolutionary...

🌱🌎 In May, the US-UK Scientific Forum on Measuring Biodiversity brought together leading voices to explore bold new approaches to monitoring and protecting Earth’s diversity of life.

📖 Read a new short summary of the Forum's discussions: www.nasonline.org/wp-content/u... @royalsociety.org

Apply for a Radcliffe Fellowship!
Applications in humanities, social sciences, & creative arts are due Sept 11, 2025
Applications in science, engineering, & math due Sept 30, 2025
www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/radcliffe-fe...
(I hear they'd especially welcome projects related to climate change)
#HPS ⚒️

Economic loss due to NIH budget cuts by congressional district, scienceimpacts.org/fy26

The #SCIMaP team announces a major update: an analysis of the economic impacts of the White House's NIH FY26 budget.

Bottom-line, we estimate $46B in total economic loss, 202K lost jobs, and impacts in communities nationwide.

Interactive map and shareable report:
scienceimpacts.org/fy26

a 🧵

YouTube video by SMTPB Reflections on Modeling and Theory in Population Biology: Joel Cohen

For “Reflections on the history of modeling and theory”, @sarperotto.bsky.social and I met with Joel Cohen. We learn how he navigated math and biology, the value of embracing ignorance, and what is a population. Or really, what _isn't_ a population: www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCt9...
@smtpb.bsky.social

Help us record firefly flashes! 👇🙏

Infrared imaging shows heat levels in sun-exposed leaves of Alstonia scholaris from the Australian Wet Tropics. As climate change increases temperatures and the severity of heat waves, both natural ecosystems and agricultural plants are increasingly affected by heat. Examining heat responses at cellular, genetic, physiological, and ecosystem scales, this special issue explores how plants sense and respond to high temperatures.

As the world warms, plants in natural ecosystems and agricultural settings find ways to respond to the heat.

In a new special issue of Science, researchers examine how heat affects plants at multiple scales, from the molecular level to the biosphere. scim.ag/44cSw3Z

Simons Graduate Fellowships in Ecology and Evolution The purpose of these awards is to provide support for students entering U.S.-based Ph.D. programs with a plan to perform research in ecology and evolution. While we will consider all projects in ecolo...

Get the word out far and wide. New opportunity from the Simons Foundation in the Eco-Evo space.

2026 Simons Graduate Fellowship in Ecology and Evolution Awards, due July 31, 2025, only for incoming PhD students who plan to start their PhDs in Fall 2026.

www.simonsfoundation.org/grant/simons...

YouTube video by SMTPB Robert D. Holt interview

Sally Otto @sarperotto.bsky.social
and I are back with the next installment of “Reflections on the history of modeling and theory”, supported by @smtpb.bsky.social. Bob Holt shares his personal history and stories of his life in science: www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8hX...