Workshops and Conferences
Science Office Projects
Many Science Office projects include, as either a key element or a starting point, the organization and facilitation of interdisciplinary symposia, focused scientific conferences, workshops, or seminars. Upcoming and recent examples are listed below.
Production of fuels from plants and agricultural and forestry wastes can reduce both society’s dependence on fossil fuels and net emissions of atmospheric carbon dioxide, the major contributor to global warming. Expanded use of this bioenergy requires assuring that its production and consumption are truly sustainable.
This conference will provide 500 attendees the opportunity to hear invited presentations by leading scientists on a variety of topics related to the ecological dimensions of biofuels. The conference will conclude with an evening social that will include additional poster presentations. More details are available here.
A two-day workshop will follow the conference, on March 11-12, 2008, where 40 invited participants will develop a report summarizing opportunities for additional research and strategies for how key stakeholders could respond to those needs.
For additional sources of information on the ecological dimensions of biofuels, click here.
Please contact Dr. Clifford Duke, ESA Director of Science Programs, for additional information (202-833-8773, csduke@esa.org).
Data Sharing Workshops
The Joint Working Group on Data Sharing and Archiving, representing the major professional societies that publish ecology, evolution, and organismal biology journals, was formed at a September, 2004, National Science Foundation sponsored workshop on data sharing and archiving, the “Society Summit,” hosted by ESA through the Science Office. Participants in the Society Summit agreed to collaborate on the following efforts:
- Facilitate continuing communication among professional societies on data sharing and archiving issues via a dedicated web site and periodic e-mails;
- Widen participation in these activities by professional societies and international organizations;
- Support three workshops to (1) develop a strategy for creating data registries, which describe data sets and provide information on how to access them, (2) identify, and develop means to reduce or eliminate, cultural and other barriers to data sharing, and (3) develop a set of requirements and recommendations for data centers in ecology, evolution, and organismal biology.
The Science Office is continuing to coordinate these efforts as a service to the biological sciences communities, with support from NSF for the three workshops identified above. Further information about this effort, and about data sharing resources is available at www.esa.org/science_resources/scienceresources.php.
Fourth International Nitrogen Conference
(October 1 - 5, 2007, Costa do Sauípe, Brazil)
Two major challenges currently face human society with respect to nitrogen management. First, much of the planet has still not seen the benefits of nitrogen fertilizer and the Green Revolution. Second, nowhere on Earth is nitrogen yet used in a sustainable way; this is the “Achilles Heel” of the Green Revolution. The use of nitrogen is imbalanced, with industrialized countries suffering pollution problems from too much nitrogen and low-income countries having a shortage of nitrogen that constrains food production. The Fourth International Nitrogen Conference (N2007) will address these two challenges of too little, too much, in an integrated manner. Through the Science Office, ESA is cosponsoring N2007 and carrying out several major tasks related to planning, outreach, post-conference publications, including a nontechnical summary of the major findings of the conference, and financial management. The Office previously helped organize the Second International Nitrogen Conference in 2001; products of that conference are available at www.esa.org/n2001.
Workshop on Agricultural Air Quality
(June 5 - 8, 2006, Potomac, Maryland)
This workshop brought together 345 scientists from 25 countries, featured a plenary address by Dr. Ralph Cicerone, President of the National Academy of Sciences, 88 oral presentations, and more than 190 posters on agricultural emissions, monitoring and measurements, biomass burning, best management practices, and public policy. The scientific program was developed by a team led by Dr. Viney Aneja, of North Carolina State University, and former ESA President Bill Schlesinger, of Duke University. Workshop proceedings have been published and an Assessment Report and several special issues of journals with papers by Workshop presenters are in preparation. Drs. Bette Stallman and Clifford Duke of the Science Office served on the workshop steering committee and planned and managed workshop logistics.
Ecology in an Era of Globalization
(January 8 - 12, 2006, Merida, Mexico)
This conference was designed to develop strategies to increase international access to ecological knowledge and to increase collaboration among environmental scientists. The conference was organized around three sub-themes: Invasive species, Human Migration, and Production Systems. Science Office staff helped raise and manage grant funds, including travel support for 130 graduate students from Latin America and the U.S.; plan the program; and manage the abstract submission and review process. The conference attracted more than 480 attendees, including 200 students, from 20 countries. A special issue of ESA’s journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, dedicated to the conference, is in preparation.
Emerging Issues Along Urban/Rural Interfaces: Linking Science and Society
(March 13 - 16, 2005, Atlanta, Georgia)
This conference, developed by Auburn University’s Forest Policy Center, Center for Forest Sustainability, and Environmental Institute, and cosponsored by ESA, brought together researchers, practitioners, and policy makers to share current research results and to identify knowledge gaps regarding the interaction between urbanization and natural resources. In particular, approaches that focus on integrating socioeconomic and ecological research were highlighted. Science Director Clifford Duke presented an invited plenary talk, “Blurring the Boundaries: The Urban Rural Interface and the Need for Cultural Change in Ecology, Planning, and Management.” A second Urban/Rural Interface conference is scheduled for April 2007; information is available at www.sfws.auburn.edu/urbanruralinterfaces.
Invasive Plants in Natural and Managed Systems: Linking Science and Management
(November 3 – 7, 2003, Fort Lauderdale Florida)
This conference, held jointly with the seventh international conference on the Ecology and Management of Alien Plant Invasions (EMAPI-7), was a cooperative effort with the Weed Science Society of America and many other scientific societies, Federal and state agencies, and nongovernmental organizations. The objectives were to:
(1) promote interdisciplinary exchange of scientific information among researchers working with harmful invasive plants in both managed and natural ecosystems;
(2) enhance dialogue between scientists and resource managers for the purpose of identifying research gaps and of accelerating implementation of new science for the management of invasive plants; and
(3) foster broad cooperation on the science and management of invasive plants. The Science Office led ESA efforts for this conference, which attracted more than 750 scientists. Science roles included fundraising and management, participation in program development, and logistics. The Proceedings are available online at http://ssa.allenpress.com/wssaonline/?request=get-toc&issn=0890-037X&volume=018&issue=05.
