ACL: Advent of Complex Life - MIT Astrobiology Team

Alexey Shipunov
Email: ashipunov at eol dot org
Institution: Marine Biological Laboratory
Telephone: 508-289-7386
Fax: 508-457-4727
Address: Marine Biological Laboratory
Woods Hole MA 02543 USA

I am botanist, taxonomist, and a developer, all in one. My Ph.D. in Moscow State University was on the taxonomy of Russian plantains. My recent academic pursuits focused on molecular taxonomy and diversity of orchids and endophytic fungi. I like diversity of any kind, but am especially intrigued by the global diversity of species. The vast majority of species are still undescribed, but at the same time, many species have been described several times over and consequently, have different names. To deal with this issue, I am leading what we are calling Union — a system that will intelligently inform an end-user of currently recognized names but will also inform him/her of other names including homonyms, synonyms, vernaculars, misspellings, and surrogates.