M.J. Dallwitz – curriculum vitae

Name

Michael John Dallwitz

Birth

Adelaide, South Australia; 20 May 1943

Citizenship

Australian

1964

B.A. Hon. 1, Pure Mathematics, Australian National University. Thesis: The Completeness of Formal Theories.

1965

B.Sc. Hon. 2A, Physics, Australian National University. Thesis: The Order-Disorder Transformation in Cu-Au.

1969

Ph.D., Physics, Australian National University. Thesis: Correlation and Vacancy-Flow Effects in Binary Alloys.

1964, 1965

ANU Final Honours Year Scholarships

1965

University Prize in Pure Mathematics

1966–1968

General Motors-Holdens’ Postgraduate Research Fellowships

1969–1970

Temporary Lecturer, Department of Physics, Australian National University, Canberra.

1970–2000

Research Scientist, CSIRO Entomology, Canberra. Final level: CSOF8 (Senior Principal Research Scientist).

1970–1986

Ecological modelling.

1971–1987

Computing consultant for Divisional staff. Writing general-purpose software.

1974–1992

Supervision of Divisional Computing Unit.

1971–1984

Design, programming, testing, and documentation of computer programs for processing descriptive taxonomic data.

1984–2000

Design, testing, and documentation of computer programs for processing descriptive taxonomic data. Supervision of analyst/programmers writing the programs.

1971–2000

Collaboration with biologists in the development of descriptive taxonomic databases.

1992–2000

Visiting Fellowship in the Molecular Evolution and Systematics Group, Research School of Biological Sciences, Australian National University.

1993–1994

Member of Information Systems Committee of the International Organization for Plant Information.

1992–2000

Member of Data Subcommittee of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses.

1996

CSIRO Medal for development of the DELTA taxonomic computer programs.

1999

Co-organized a symposium on interactive identification at the International Botanical Congress.

I am the originator of the DELTA format for coding taxonomic descriptions. This is a flexible data format, capable of representing most types of information used by taxonomists for description, identification, and classification. The data format and the associated programs are in widespread use for taxonomic research and teaching. In 1988, the IUBS Commission for Plant Taxonomic Databases adopted the DELTA format as a standard for recording and exchanging descriptive taxonomic information.

1983

Presented paper at Systematics Association symposium on Databases in Systematics, Southampton, England. Visited British Museum and Viceae Database Project at Southampton University, Southampton, England. Funding: British Council and SERC.

1984

Presented keynote address at annual conference of Systematics Association of New Zealand, Christchurch, New Zealand, and ran DELTA workshop. Funding: DSIR.

1985

Visited USDA, Beltsville, MD, USA; Agriculture Canada, Ottawa, Canada; Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA. Ran DELTA workshop at Utah State University, Logan, UT, USA. Funding: USDA, Agriculture Canada, Texas A&M University.

1988

Visited USDA, Beltsville, MD, USA. Funding: USDA.

1990

Presented paper at workshop on Standardized Coding of Plant and Animal Virus Characteristics, Rockville, MD, USA. Funding: American Type Culture Collection.

1990

Presented invited paper at workshop on Artificial Intelligence in Systematics, Napa, CA, USA. Ran DELTA workshops at the Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, Canada, and Missouri Botanical Garden, St Louis, MO, USA. Funding: NSF, Canadian Museum of Nature, Missouri Botanical Garden.

1990

Attended meeting of International Working Group on Taxonomic Databases, Delphi, Greece. Funding: CSIRO.

1992

Attend meeting of International Committee on the Taxonomy of Viruses, Cambridge, England, and visit Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, England. Funding: Australian National University.

1992

Ran two DELTA workshops at Western Australian Herbarium, Perth. Funding: ABRS.

1992

Presented invited paper and chaired session at International Federation of Automatic Control conference on Expert Systems in Agriculture, Huangshan, China, and visited Beijing Agricultural University, Beijing, China. Funding: United Nations Development Program.

1992

Ran DELTA workshops at Agriculture Canada, Ottawa, Canada, and Jalapa and Guadalajara, Mexico. Funding: Agriculture Canada, Canadian Museum of Nature, University of Guadalajara.

1993

Ran DELTA workshop for staff and committee members of the Flora North America project, St Louis, MO, USA. Funding: Missouri Botanical Garden.

1994

Attended meeting of the Data Subcommittee of the International Committee on the Taxonomy of Viruses, Utrecht, Netherlands. Visited Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, England. Funding: Australian National University.

1994

Attended workshop on Data Management for Biodiversity Research, and ran DELTA workshop, Beijing, China. Funding: Chinese Academy of Sciences.

1994

Ran DELTA workshop, Sandakan, Malaysia. Funding: Forest Research Institute of Malaysia.

1994

Ran DELTA workshop, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA. Visited Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, Canada. Funding: Harvard University, Canadian Museum of Nature.

1995

Attended workshop on virus databases, Washington, DC, USA; visited Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, Canada. Funding: American Type Culture Collection, Canadian Museum of Nature.

1996

Attended workshop on taxonomic databases, Perth, WA. Funding: WA Herbarium.

1996

Attended International Congress of Virology, Jerusalem, Israel. Visited American Type Culture Collection, Washington, DC, USA; New York Botanical Garden and Brooklyn Botanical Garden, New York, NY, USA; Royal Botanic Garden, Kew, England; Institut für Holzbiologie, Hamburg, Germany. Funding: NSF.

1996

Presented invited paper at PEET (Partnerships for Enhancing Expertise in Taxonomy) Computer Workshop on Acquisition and Dissemination of Taxonomic Information, Lawrence, KS, USA. Funding: NSF.

1996

Presented invited paper at conference on Computer-Based Species Identification, Canterbury, UK. Funding: Systematics Association, CSIRO.

1998

Presented a 1-day seminar at Deptamento de Madera, Celulosa y Papel, Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico. Visited American Type Culture Collection, Washington, DC, USA; Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, Canada; Institut für Holzbiologie, Hamburg, Germany; Institut für Systematische Botanik, München, Germany; Western Australian Herbarium, Perth. Funding: NSF.

1999

Co-organised a symposium on interactive keys and presented a paper on Intkey and other interactive key programs at XVI International Botanical Congress, St. Louis, MO, USA. Funding: NSF.

1999

Presented invited paper ‘Data requirements for natural-language descriptions and identification’ at meeting of International Working Group on Taxonomic Databases, and attended meeting of International Organization for Plant Information, Cambridge, MA, USA. Visited American Type Culture Collection, Washington, DC, USA; Systematic Botany and Mycology Laboratory, USDA, Washington, DC, USA; Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, Canada. Funding: International Working Group on Taxonomic Databases.

2000

Attended meeting on US-Australia interactions in biological informatics, Washington, DC, USA. Visited American Type Culture Collection, Washington, DC, USA; Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, Canada. Funding: CSIRO.

2000

Presented paper at the XXI International Congress of Entomology, Iguassu Falls, Brazil. Funding: CSIRO.

2002

Visited Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA, and Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, Canada. Ran a DELTA workshop at the New York Botanical Gardens. Funding: Smithsonian Institution, Canadian Museum of Nature, New York Botanical Gardens.