Biocomplexity (Incubation Activity): Impact of Industrial Products and Processes on Biocomplexity - A Multidisciplinary Approach with Applications to Fiber Products and Processes

Auburn University, Auburn AL

Investigators

Abstract

Industrial products and processes exert some of the most profound and irreversible changes on the ecosystem. They contribute to biocomplexity by altering the delicate balances of biological, physical, and social systems via the usage of natural resources, the reintroduction of new materials to the environment, and the influence on behavior patterns and stimulating responses of living species. The primary objective of this incubation activity is to enable, orient, and integrate the multidisciplinary endeavors of a group of researchers to define the major issues, system interactions, critical needs, opportunities and future directions pertaining to the impact of industrial systems on biocomplexity. A pool of excellence will be formed to include 26 multidisciplinary faculty members from Auburn University and Tuskegee University along with their associates and students, and leading authorities from other academic institutions, Federal agencies and labs, and industry. These individuals provide a truly diverse background (engineering, chemistry, biology, microbiology, forestry, agronomy, business economics, sociology, and psychology) to address the proposed biocomplexity research for the first time in an integrated, systematic, and truly multidisciplinary framework. The requested NSF fund along with its institutional and industrial matching funds will be used to develop research networking, interactions, and management plans, to support a two-semester weekly seminar series, a focused retreat, an international conference with topical symposia and published proceedings, and three special issues in leading journals.