Leading scientists from the environmental research community have designed the research problem and will be at the Cliff Lodge to meet the participants and observe the results. They include:

• Stuart Fisher is a professor in the program in ecology, evolution and environmental science (ecosystems) at Arizona State University. He is also the principal investigator and co-director of ASU’s Urban Ecology IGERT Program which seeks to bring students from the life, earth, and social sciences together in the ecological analysis of urban regions. Fisher’s research focuses on freshwater ecology, the diverse functions of streams in desert ecosystems, and how stream ecosystems are structured around long term patterns of flood and drought.

• Barry Gold currently leads the Moore Foundation’s Marine Conservation Initiative. He formerly managed the effort to develop a scientifically credible framework for ecosystem-based management of coastal-marine systems for the David and Lucille Packard Foundation and was chief of the Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center leading the effort to restore the Colorado River ecosystem. These experiences as well as senior positions with the Department of the Interior, the U.S. House of Representatives and the National Academy of Sciences have given Gold extensive experience at the interface of environmental science and policy.

• John Guckenheimer is a professor of mathematics at Cornell University whose research for the last four decades has focused on the long term behavior of non-linear dynamic systems. His research combines mathematical theory and the development of computational methods to analyze dynamic systems in diverse topics in the biological and engineering sciences. As an associate dean of computational science and engineering, Guckenheimer facilitates the design and management of new programs such as the Cornell Theory Center which develops high performance computing solutions to interdisciplinary scientific problems.

• Ann Kinzig is an associate professor of biology (urban ecology) at Arizona State University. She has received fellowships from the Aldo Leopold Leadership program, the National Science Foundation and the NASA Global Change program among others. Her research focuses broadly on urban ecology, human-environment interactions over long time scales, and the impact of human land use on species change. In addition to publishing on these themes, Kinzig has worked to engage scientists in environmental policy topics.

• Margaret Leinen is the assistant director for Geosciences at the National Science Foundation. In addition to sitting on multiple federal committees concerning environmental science and global climate change, she is responsible for coordinating the NSF’s environmental science, engineering and education programs. Leinen was dean of the Graduate School of Oceanography and vice provost for Marine and Environmental Programs at the University of Rhode Island before joining NSF. An oceanographer by training, her research focuses on paleo-oceanography and climatology and the role of biologically produced ocean sedimentation in global biogeochemical cycles.

• Danny McKenna was the director of the Atmospheric Chemistry Division at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and is now an NCAR senior scientist. Previously, he was the director of the Institute for Chemistry and Dynamics of the Geosphere, Research Center Jülich (Germany). Trained in chemical physics and theoretical chemistry, McKenna’s research interests include the development of theoretical models of transport processes in the stratosphere and troposphere as well as the design, deployment, and analysis of experiments using data collected from multi-instrument surface and aircraft platforms.

• Margaret Palmer is a professor of entomology and biology (ecosystems) at the University of Maryland. She is also the director of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Chesapeake Biological Laboratory and has been an Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellow and a Lilly Fellow. Palmer’s research focuses on the function of stream ecosystems and the impact of human land use changes. She has also directed these research interests toward the development of theory and experimentation in restoration ecology focusing on the improvement of stream restoration efforts.

• Stephanie Pfirman is professor and chair of the department of environmental science at Barnard College. As the former chair of the National Science Foundation’s Advisory Committee for Environmental Research and Education, Pfirman oversaw the analysis of the outlook for environmental science and education at NSF. Through participation in a variety of other initiatives, she has demonstrated her commitment to interdisciplinary education, the development of women scientists, and the public understanding of climate change and other environmental issues. A marine geologist and geophysicist by training, Pfirman has focused her research on changes in the Arctic environment, especially sea ice and ocean surface conditions.

• O. James Reichman is a professor of ecology, evolution and marine biology (behavioral ecology) at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is also the director of the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, where he has long worked to promote interdisciplinary collaboration in ecology and the environmental sciences. Reichman’s research focuses on behavioral ecology, in particular the interaction of herbivores and plants in areas with sensitive ecologies. Recently his research has focused on the interaction of native and invasive plant species and long term impacts on plant community structure.

• Stephen Schneider is a professor of biological sciences (climatology) with a courtesy appointment in civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University. He is also the co-director of the Center for Environmental Science and Policy and the Interdisciplinary Program in Environmental Resources, both at Stanford University. His numerous honors include a MacArthur fellowship in 1992 and being elected to the membership of the National Academy of Sciences in 2002. Schneider has had a long career of educating the public about global climate issues including serving as a consultant to the White House or federal agencies during the administrations of six presidents. Schneider’s current research focuses on global warming, climate change, including the modeling of human impacts. His work also concerns the integrated assessment of the effects of climate change on ecologies and economies, as well as public policy issues.