The dean of ASU's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences channeled the powers of YouTube.com last week in an attempt to overcome taxonomy's reputation as a dry field, he said.
Taxonomy, the science of identifying and classifying species, has been somewhat out of fashion, said Quentin Wheeler, the college's dean and the director of ASU's International Institute for Species Exploration.
That's why Wheeler took the first step in his awareness campaign Oct. 24 by helping launch a video on YouTube.com, he added.
"Planet Bob," a six-minute video, warns viewers that "we're facing a critical shortage of information" and explains the importance of the science.
"If we want ecosystems to be sustainable, we'd better know what they're made up of," Wheeler added.
Currently, ASU does not offer any taxonomy-specific classes but instead offers a few courses in which students can learn about different groups, such as mammals or reptiles, he added.
"We have an excellent lichen herbarium," Wheeler said. The herbarium houses lichen — symbiotic algae and fungi — specimens from all over the world. "And we have a pretty good start for an insect collection."
But there has been insufficient support for instructing taxonomists at ASU, he added.
Wheeler said he hopes to change both the extent of ASU's taxonomy program and the public's perception of the science.
He chose to launch his campaign through YouTube.com because it seemed like a hot medium and a wonderful way to reach younger people who haven't given much thought to the science, he said.
In the week since the video was posted, it has been viewed more than 2,000 times.
"It's a good start," Wheeler said. "Word's just starting to get out."
Tony Gill, the assistant director of the International Institute for Species, said he has received mixed reviews about the video from his colleagues.
"Most of them are a little bewildered by it," he added. "But taxonomy is seen mostly as dry and dusty. We need things like this to get people excited."
Gill thinks the field just needs more attention — it's a matter of educating the public about what taxonomy is and showing them how exciting it can be, he said.
"I can't think of a field that's so demanding," he added.
Wheeler is passionate about the science and has been a taxonomist his entire career, he said.
"I knew I wanted to do something to raise public awareness about the importance of taxonomy," he added. "There's still an immense amount of work to be done."
The University's new taxonomy program will officially launch in March 2008, Gill said, and he will teach his first taxonomy class in spring 2009.
Reach the reporter at: sarah.g.owen@asu.edu.
