Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve

Robert B. Jackson, Nicholas Professor of Global Environmental Change, Associate Dean for Research, and Professor of Biology at Duke University, discusses his work on the feedbacks between people and the biosphere, including studies of energy, land use, and climate change, with the goal of building predictive, scientific frameworks that help guide policy solutions for global warming and other environmental problems.

Steven Hamburg, Chief Scientist of the Environmental Defense Fund and recipient of the US Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Merit Award, discusses his postdoctoral research the ecological legacy of land use history and its connection to his science-based advocacy at the EDF.

Kyla Dahlin, Postdoctoral Fellow at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, discusses her research on remote sensing of vegetation structure and composition and its long-term implications for environmental restoration.

Four distinguished environmental scientists discuss the impact of four decades of seminal work at Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve, and how to increase opportunities for JRBP to make unique contributions in the future. Panelists include Christopher Field, Melvin and Joan Lane Professor for Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies and Heinz Award-winning global ecologist; Gretchen Daily, Bing Professor of Biology and Co-Director of the Natural Capital Project; Paul Ehrlich, Bing Professor of Population Studies and MacArthur Fellow; Barton "Buzz” Thompson, Robert E. Paradise Professor of Natural Resources Law and Co-Director of the Woods Institute for the Environment; and Erika Zavaleta, Associate Professor, Environmental Studies Department, UC Santa Cruz.

Christopher Field, JRBP Faculty Director, Stanford's Melvin and Joan Lane Professor for Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies and a Heinz Award winning global ecologist, welcomes speakers and attendees to the daylong conference celebrating 40 years of path-breaking research and policy impact at Stanford's Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve.

How can the relationship between scientists and politicians be improved, and how can an improved relationship benefit public policy? NPR Science Friday host and award-winning journalist Ira Flatow, Melvin and Joan Lane Professor for Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies and Heinz Award winning global ecologist Chris Field, co-founder/chief greenskeeper of Method home-care products and former climate scientist Adam Lowry, and former administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and MacArthur Fellowship recipient Jane Lubchenco discuss how public perception of the authority and reliability of science and scientists influence national and global policy, and how these perceptions can be reshaped.

Melinda Belisle, a Stanford PhD student working with Professor Tad Fukami on floral ecology at Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve, discusses her work on nectar microbes in a varied landscape, its relevance for understanding historical contingency in ecological community assembly, and its potential significance to ecological restoration.

Five eminent science educators discuss how science education can be improved, and how Jasper Ridge and other biological field stations contribute to that effort. Panelists include Deborah Stipek, Professor and former Dean, Stanford University School of Education; Nicole Ardoin, Assistant Professor of Education and Fellow of the Woods Institute for the Environment; Rodolfo Dirzo, Bing Professor of Environmental Sciences; Helen Quinn, Professor (Emerita) at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory; and Jennifer Saltzman, Director of Outreach and Director of the Climate Change Education Project, School of Earth Sciences.