By Eileen Conrad

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has renewed and increased funding for the UC Santa Barbara-based National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS). Over the next five years, this national think tank for ecologists will receive a total of $18.4-million, an increase of $1.6-million above the previous award.

In addition, the NSF will provide $2.6-million to advance the center’s research on the management of complex ecological information. This is the second time that the NSF has renewed funding for the center, which is widely recognized as the premier international center for collaborative research in ecological synthesis.

“NCEAS has made it possible for thousands of ecological researchers to study the big picture in a way that was impossible just a decade ago,” said Michael Witherell, vice chancellor for research. “The NSF renewal recognizes the fact that NCEAS has transformed the study of ecology, and the field cannot succeed without it.”

The National Science Foundation established NCEAS in 1995. Recognizing the need for new approaches to assembling, accessing, and synthesizing information, the ecological community rallied around the concept of a synthesis center.

Thus far, more than 3,100 scientists have participated in NCEAS research activities. In addition to the 25 scientists in residence, more than 500 scientists, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows visit NCEAS each year to use the center’s high-performance computing capabilities.

“The center promotes extensive collaboration among scientists and students from many disciplines and their efforts have generated a greater understanding of natural systems and the means to conserve and manage them,” said Jim Reichman, NCEAS director and a professor of ecology, evolution, and marine biology.

In research that spans the spectrum from genes to the biosphere, the innovative center focuses on novel questions and approaches and sustained investigations into core areas of ecology. It ranks in the top

1 percent of more than 38,000 scientific institutions worldwide in the total number of citations in ecology research publications.

“NCEAS has become part of the intellectual infrastructure of ecology and allied disciplines,” said Reichman. “The success of the collaboration and synthesis at the center is facilitated by the excellent staff, the strong support from the administration and faculty of UCSB’s Marine Science Institute, and the campus.”

As a reflection of the ecological community’s commitment to solving problems that meet societal needs, more than a quarter of the projects at NCEAS also seek to inform environmental policy and management.