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News Release 05-189

NSF Awards 17 Grants for Research on Biocomplexity in the Environment

Connections among living things from Genes To Ecosystems Studied

Scientists are studying water and other ecosystems through NSF's BE awards.

Scientists are studying water and other ecosystems through NSF's BE awards.


October 31, 2005

This material is available primarily for archival purposes. Telephone numbers or other contact information may be out of date; please see current contact information at media contacts.

To better understand the interrelationships among living things--from their genes to the ecosystems they inhabit and how they interact with their environment--the National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded 17 grants to scientists and engineers across the country to study biocomplexity in the environment.

Ten awards were made in 2005 from the Biocomplexity in the Environment (BE) program, now in its sixth year, for studies of the dynamics of coupled natural and human systems (CNH), and seven for research on "materials use: science, engineering, and society (MUSES)". CNH grantees were awarded a total of just over $10 million; MUSES grantees were awarded almost $7 million.

"These investigations will provide a more complete understanding of natural processes and cycles, of human behavior and decisions in the natural world, and of ways to use new technology effectively to observe the environment," said Margaret Leinen, NSF assistant director for geosciences, and coordinator of NSF’s Environmental Research and Education (ERE) programs.

Research on BE, said Leinen, will shed light on connections that are not necessarily straightforward or easily discerned, but that are critically important to the future of life on our planet.

"Scientists and engineers need to work in teams across diverse fields that go beyond biology to include physics, engineering, economics, geochemistry and others, on studies that extend from the molecular level to changes in the world's climate," said Leinen. "We now have the technologies and tools to make this kind of research possible."

Organisms from microbes to humans make up the BE framework, as do environments that range from frozen polar regions to deep-ocean hydrothermal vents, from temperate forests to agricultural lands to the neighborhoods and industries of urban centers.

Research projects in the CNH sub-category include studies of urban landscape patterns, human vulnerability and resilience to subarctic change, understanding linkages among human and biogeochemical processes in agricultural landscapes, and long-term coupled socioecological change in the American southwest and northern Mexico.

MUSES investigators will conduct research on improving and valuing materials flow of the metal-casting industry, engineering environmentally benign electronics, implications of automotive fuel economy and emissions policies on materials flows, and renewable energy from forest resources.

-NSF-

Media Contacts
Cheryl Dybas, NSF, (703) 292-7734, email: cdybas@nsf.gov

The U.S. National Science Foundation propels the nation forward by advancing fundamental research in all fields of science and engineering. NSF supports research and people by providing facilities, instruments and funding to support their ingenuity and sustain the U.S. as a global leader in research and innovation. With a fiscal year 2023 budget of $9.5 billion, NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives more than 40,000 competitive proposals and makes about 11,000 new awards. Those awards include support for cooperative research with industry, Arctic and Antarctic research and operations, and U.S. participation in international scientific efforts.

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