Smithsonian Botanical Symposium

Last weekend I attended the Smithsonian Botanical Symposium. I greatly enjoyed the talks and meeting the people organizing and attending the event. This year's theme was "Transforming 21st Century Comparative Biology using Evolutionary Trees," which made the conference particularly relevant to my interests. There was a good mix of talks, from ones that were almost purely methodological to ones that were focused on the evolutionary history of a particular group of organisms.

It was also great to be at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. Having been born in D.C. and raised in the area, I spent my childhood visiting the NMNH. I even recall a class trip downtown when we had to break into two groups, one of which would go to the Air and Space Museum and the other of which would go to the NMNH; I was the only one who chose the latter (I was never one to conform). It holds a special place in my heart, and it was great to attend a symposium there!

The NMNH mascot.

- Brendan