Science Research Groups

Scientists at NCEAS use existing information to address important questions in ecology, ecoinformatics and allied disciplines. At NCEAS, scientists conduct collaborative research on major fundamental and applied problems in ecology. The Center has a critical responsibility to apply general knowledge of ecological systems to specific issues such as the massive and accelerating loss of biotic diversity, global change, habitat decline and fragmentation, over-exploitation of natural resources, and pollution of air, water, and soil. Hundreds of scholars, including Postdoctoral Associates, Center Fellows, and visitors in Working Groups collaborate each year at the Center on scores of projects. NCEAS, a research center of the University of California, Santa Barbara, is located in downtown Santa Barbara.

The goal of GEON is to advance the field of geoinformatics to prepare and train current and future generations of geoscience researchers, educators, and practitioners in the use of cyberinfrastructure to further their research, education, and professional goals. Geoinformatics will foster new interdisciplinary research, for example, the gravity modeling of 3D geological features, such as plutons; study of active tectonics by integrating LiDAR data and geodynamics models; and, study of lithospheric structure and properties across diverse tectonic environments.

The MIT Deep Water Archaeology Research Group, DeepArch, is developing methodology for archaeological investigations in the deepest parts of the world's oceans (to 6,000m deep) using advanced sensors, robotics, and submersibles. DeepArch conducts research that includes archaeologists, historians, engineers, and oceanographers, so that the challenge of working in deep water can be approached from all angles. Leaders in these fields are brought together through lectures, conferences, and expeditions, to investigate the tools and methods needed to study this complex discipline. In addition, DeepArch believes in the education of a new generation of archaeologists and engineers, and we participate in a number of educational opportunities, including public lectures and ROV competitions.

Malin Space Science Systems designs, develops, operates, and conducts scientific research with instruments that fly on robotic spacecraft. MSSS developed, built and now operates the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) on the Mars Global Surveyor. MSSS built the cameras for the Mars Surveyor '98 Missions (Mars Climate Orbiter MARCI and Mars Polar Lander MARDI) and also built cameras for the 2001 Mars missions. We recently delievered 2 cameras for the 2005 Mars Reconaissance Orbiter, and we are responsible for the Mars Descent Imager on the 2007 Phoenix Mars lander. MSSS has also been selected to provide 3 camera systems for the 2009 Mars Science Laboratory rover and a high resolution camera for the 2008 Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. In addition, MSSS is involved with science and/or software support for other missions (including the Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity), and is funded by NASA to investigate Mars rover autonomous operations activities.

The Carnegie Institution is a private organization that conducts basic research for the benefit of humanity. Its Department of Global Ecology, founded in 2002 on the campus of Stanford University, conducts basic research on the interactions among the earth's ecosystems, land, atmosphere, and oceans. The goal of this research is understanding the ways these interactions shape the behavior of the earth system, including its responses to future changes. The Department of Global Ecology includes faculty members, post-doctoral fellows, graduate students, and undergraduates, plus technical and administrative staff. There are opportunities for volunteers who wish to be involved in the research.

The NASA Deep Space Network - or DSN - is an international network of antennas that supports interplanetary spacecraft missions and radio and radar astronomy observations for the exploration of the solar system and the universe. The network also supports selected Earth-orbiting missions. The DSN currently consists of three deep-space communications facilities placed approximately 120 degrees apart around the world: at Goldstone, in California's Mojave Desert; near Madrid, Spain; and near Canberra, Australia. This strategic placement permits constant observation of spacecraft as the Earth rotates, and helps to make the DSN the largest and most sensitive scientific telecommunications system in the world.

The Lyot Project, involving scientists from around the United States with varied backgrounds, is an attempt to build an instrument that can remove more of the starlight from images of nearby solar systems than has ever before been possible. We intend to map regions comparable to the size of our own solar system around the nearest and brightest stars. Our work will also help to understand and break the barrier that has prevented the direct imaging of planets in orbit about other stars. We also hope to see nascent planetary systems, which may reveal precious clues about how planets and solar systems form.

The Department of Astrophysics is located in the Rose Center for Earth and Space on the grounds of the American Museum of Natural History. The newest academic research department in the Museum, the department was formed to support the astronomy education activities of the Museum and to conduct research into astronomy and astrophysics. Additionally, the department provides scientific support for the exhibits of the Rose Center and Hayden Planetarium.

The mission of the Physical Research Lab is medium to long-term high-impact research primarily in areas of science and technology relevant to Lucent Technologies' focus on communications and networks. Specific areas of work include photonics components based on nonlinear optical materials and on semiconductors, etc.; physical optics; soft-condensed matter physics and technology, such as organic injection lasers and devices based on liquid crystals and polymers; physics of wireless propagation smart antennas; wireless components; information and communication theory; quantum information processing; biological computation including biology inspired algorithms and machine learning; nanoscale science and technology including nanoprobes for high resolution imaging of devices and materials; materials and condensed matter physics research including semiconductors such as nitrides, organic molecular crystals, new photonic materials; astrophysics and space science.

The Center for Applied Mathematics (CAM) administers the graduate Field of Applied Mathematics. Graduate education is a vital function at Cornell University. From the student's point of view, the Applied Mathematics graduate program offers not only the opportunity to work at a major university, but flexibility and accommodation to individual needs and interests. Applied Mathematics is one of the most diverse graduate fields; the range of possibilities of graduate research encompasses the areas of specialization of all the faculty members in the field, who currently number more than eighty. As a Cornell graduate student in applied mathematics, you will find a culture of respect and trust and a collegial atmosphere in which to study and that encourages you to excel. To apply to our program, see details here. Our faculty research interests include information theory, algebraic combinatorics, linear programming, parallel numerical methods, statistical genetics/genomics, Bayesian statistics, numerical optimization, dynamical systems, random processes, probability theory, theoretical population biology and evolutionary biology, mathematical biology, logic, data mining, fluid dynamics, and more.

The overall goal of this project is to develop flexible topological methods which will allow the analysis of data which is difficult to analyze using classical linear methods. Data obtained by sampling from highly curved manifolds or singular algebraic varieties in Euclidean space are typical examples where our methods will be useful. We intend to develop and refine two pieces of software which have been written by members of our research group, ISOMAP (Tenenbaum) and PLEX (de Silva-Carlsson). ISOMAP is a tool for dimension reduction and parameterization of high dimensional data sets, and PLEX is a homology computing tool which we will use in locating and analyzing singular points in data sets, as well as estimating dimension in situations where standard methods do not work well. We plan to extend the range of applicability of both tools, in the case of ISOMAP by studying embeddings into spaces with non-Euclidean metrics, and in the case of PLEX by building in the Mayer-Vietoris spectral sequence as a tool. Both ISOMAP and PLEX will be adapted for parallel computing. We will also begin the theoretical study of statistical questions relating to topology. For instance, we will initiate the study of higher dimensional homology of subsets sampled from Euclidean space under various sampling hypotheses. The key object of study will be the family of Cech complexes constructed using the distance function in Euclidean space together with a randomly chosen finite set of points in Euclidean space.

The mission of the Center is to stimulate research at Stanford in the area of magnetic nanotechnology, magnetic sensing, and information storage materials, to facilitate collaboration between Stanford scientists and their industrial colleagues, to train well-rounded and highly skilled graduate students, and to develop curricular offerings in the relevant subjects. The center also operate the Magnetics Forum, which provides annual reviews, workshops, short courses, and conferences on magnetics-based technologies including nanotechnology and information storage, and the Nanomagnetics Facility, which provides processing and characterization capabilities for magnetic and other novel materials.

The Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) is a not-for-profit center for engineering, research and development. Its the largest division of one of the worlds premier research universities, Johns Hopkins. As a not-for-profit division of the Johns Hopkins University, APL serves as a technology resource to the Department of Defense and other Government agencies. Each business area comprises a set of programs grouped as a unit with common application of resources and management. Many business areas are based on capabilities and expertise supporting long-term programs, such as Air & Missile Defense or Strategic Systems. Some are relatively new or represent a more defined focus, such as National Security Space and Homeland Protection. As a division of one of the worlds great research universities, education is an important part of APLs mission. The APL Education Center comprises our on-site JHU Whiting School of Engineering graduate programs. Classes are open to both APL staff and members of the community at large. More than half of the faculty is made up of APL staff members.

If water once flowed on Mars, did it leave any clues? In 2005, aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) instrument joins NASA's set of high-tech detectives seeking traces of past water on the Martian surface. CRISM's mission: Find the spectral fingerprints of aqueous and hydrothermal deposits and map the geology, composition and stratigraphy of surface features. The instrument will also watch the seasonal variations in Martian dust and ice aerosols, and water content in surface materials - leading to new understanding of the climate. Led by The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, the CRISM team includes expertise from universities, government agencies and small business in the United States and abroad.

Since its founding in 1977, the CNF (Cornell Nanoscale Science and Technology Facility) has been a national user facility, where researchers from universities and companies across the country can access state-of-the-art fabrication and characterization tools, and learn to use them with the help of a knowledgeable technical staff. CNFs ~700 active research users represented a very diverse range of disciplines, including materials, chemistry, electronics, magnetics, MEMS, optics, biology, electro-mechanics, and bio-systems. Within these broad field, CNF particularly makes its mark with high resolution, high precision patterning, to features smaller than 20 nm.

The mission of National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NNIN) is to enable rapid advancements in science, engineering and technology at the nano-scale by efficient access to nanotechnology infrastructure.

Representing over a 100 years of exploration, discovery, and research, the Division of Paleontology is home to one of the largest fossil collections in the world.

Genome programs of the US Department of Energy, founder of the Human Genome Project and leader in systems biology research.

The Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Legacy Survey Supernova Program aims primarily at measuring the equation of state of Dark Energy. It is designed to precisely measure several hundred high-redshift supernovae.

Founded in 1959, under the auspices of UNESCO and the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (previously World Conservation Union), the Charles Darwin Foundation is dedicated to the conservation of the Galapagos ecosystems. The Foundation operates the Charles Darwin Research Station to conduct scientific research and environmental education for conservation. The Station has a team of over two hundred scientists, educators, volunteers, research students and support staff from all over the world. The Foundation Secretary General is located in Quito, the capital of Ecuador, and maintains close contact with the government to promote Galapagos conservation throughout Ecuador.