As a natural scientist specialising in small Neotropical plant taxonomy and systematics, I attended the Review of Taxonomy & Systematics in the U.K., University College, London on 23 April 2010 to defend the lack Ph.D studentships for U.K. students. Without professionally trained taxonomists, the U.K.'s reputation as a world leader cannot continue without employing greater numbers of specialists from outside the U.K. or relying upon voluntary assistance of the citizen scientist (which could be argued as slave labour as a way to cut research funding).
A visit to the Missouri Botanical Garden Herbarium, 9-17 January 2010 to analyse the largest collection of Lacistemataceae specimens outside the familys distribution range.
