Symposium Schedule 2024

Video: 2024 Symposium 

8:00     Registration and Coffee

8:45     WelcomeDr. Cherry Murray, Deputy Director for Research, Biosphere 2

8:50     New Initiatives and OpportunitiesDr. Joaquin Ruiz, Director, Biosphere 2

9:20     Plenary I - Coral Reef Futures, Dr. Nancy Knowlton, Sant Chair for Marine Science, Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, Emerita and Scientific Leader of the Census of Marine Life

10:05   Break

10:20   Biosphere 2 Ocean Research 

  • Biosphere 2 Reef Lab Overview,  Dr. Diane Thompson, Director of Marine Research, Biosphere 2
  • How coral- macroalgal phase shifts impact biogeochemical cycling and community function—a case study in the Biosphere 2 Ocean, Sam King, Graduate Student, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona
  • Biosphere 2 Reef Lab: Historical Data & R Shiny App PreviewRenee Grambihler, Research Specialist, Biosphere 2
  • Biosphere 2 Reef Lab: Engineering Upgrades,  Lia Crocker, Research Specialist, Biosphere 2

10:55   Landscape Evolution Observatory (LEO) Research

How to Build a new science of Landscape Terraformation at B2, Dr. Scott Saleska, Director of Landscape Evolution Observatory Research, Biosphere 2 

  • Hydro-bio-geochemistry in the earliest stages of rock to soil transition,   Dr. Jon Chorover, Interim AVP for Research and Professor, Environmental Science, UA
  • Microbe-metabolite interactions during early succession by non-vascular biocrusts and mosses, Ghiwa Makke, Graduate Student Environmental Science & Ecosystem Genomics, UA
  • The Future: Feedbacks and transformation caused by the introduction of vascular plants, Dr. Val Milici, Postdoc, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, UA

11:30   NEON-Biosphere 2 Collaboration Opportunity, Dr. Chris Florian, Terrestrial Instrument Science Lead, NEON

12:00   Lunch and Posters

1:30     B2 Infrastructure ProposalJohn Adams, Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer, Biosphere 2 

1:50     Plenary II - A new window on the tropical carbon cycle: carbonyl sulfide (OCS)Dr. Joe Berry, Senior Staff Scientist Emeritus,           Carnegie Science BSE Division

2:35     Tropical Rain Forest Research

  • Is chocolate feeling the heat? Finding tropical tree species' temperature limit in the Biosphere 2 rainforest, Dr. Joost van Haren, Director of Rain Forest Research, Biosphere 2
  • Leveraging the plant phylogenetic diversity at Biosphere 2 to investigate the biosynthesis and regulation of Green Leaf Volatiles, Dr. Chris Frost, Assistant Research Professor, Bio 5 Institute, UA

3:10     Environmental quality research at Biosphere 2, Dr. Katerina Dontsova, Analytical Lab Director, Biosphere 2                                      

3:30      Break

3:45       Food, Water, Energy Research

  • Agrivoltaics: A solution for Food, Energy, and Water Security from Biosphere 2 to across the globe,  Dr. Greg Barron-Gafford, Director of Food, Water, Energy Research, Biosphere 2
  • Expanding the food-water-energy-SOIL nexus: Agrivoltaic systems can increase carbon sequestration for dryland soils, Dr. Holly Andrews, Postdoc, School of Geography, Development & Environment, UA

4:20      Farming for Food Production: From Parking Lots to Rooftops, from the Back Forty to the Moon and MarsDr. Gene Giacomelli, Chief Scientist, CEAC, Biosphere 2

4:50     Closing Remarks, Dr. Joaquin Ruiz, Director, Biosphere 2

5:30      Reception and Posters