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About the Center:Global change research has become increasingly broad in spatial extent and focused at the interface of traditional disciplines. Global changes, ranging from greenhouse warming and sea level rise to shifts in land use and urbanization, pose fundamental challenges for basic research in environmental science. The Center on Global Change at Duke University was established in response to rapid change in society's demands on science and a consequent shift in the way environmental science is done. Its goals are to develop the scientific and technical basis for recognizing and forecasting changes in the Earth's biotic environment and to foster interdisciplinary graduate training in global change. Center activities include focused working groups that target specific research topics, as well as seminars, short courses and workshops. The organization of the Center on Global Change is intended to provide for a broad-based research and training program that might otherwise not occur. The structure is designed to provide a framework for multiple, but explicit, directions of scientific inquiry. The focus on working groups that address specific research needs is intended to facilitate interdisciplinary research programs that need the initial support often difficult to obtain through traditional funding mechanisms. Duke University has a unique concentration of expertise that is ready
to meet the science needs of global change. The Center on Global Change
builds on a tradition of excellence, and on a history of leading new
directions in environmental science, that provides the impetus for this
initiative. The University's leadership role in the interdisciplinary
science required for global change studies builds on strengths in earth
sciences, ecology, engineering, computation, math and statistics—strengths
that span environmental and social sciences to provide correlations
that few other institutions can. ©2006 Center on Global Change |
