Page 18 - fall2017

IN PHILANTHROPY
The Resilient Planet
$30 million gift invests in the future of Earth
by Liz Warren-Pederson Jacob Chinn photo
he world’s population — already close
Tto 8 billion — is expected to surpass 11
billion by the end of the century. How can
we scale food, water and energy systems to
sustain the generations to come during a
time of rapid climate change?
Researchers are working on these
interconnected challenges at the largest
closed ecological system in the world, the ‘Biosphere 2 is a
University of Arizona’s Biosphere 2.
Ed Bass, one of the visionaries behind living laboratory
the original project, has committed $30 where scientists
million to sustain use of the nearly 40-acre
research campus into the next decade and do incredibly
beyond. His endowment includes support compelling work to
for two faculty chairs that are part of the
Eminent Scholars program, through which better understand
funding is amplified by the university to our environment.’
facilitate faster growth of the endowment’s
principal.
“The Biosphere works at the nexus of
food, energy and water,” explains Joaquin
Ruiz, director of Biosphere 2, vice president
for innovation and dean of the College of
Science. These systems are interconnected:
Water is used in energy production —
including in growing biofuels — and
agriculture alike. Changes in one system
may have unexpected ramifications for
another, yet traditionally scientists haven’t
integrated their studies across research
silos.
“Biosphere 2 is a laboratory unlike any
other in the world, because it can advance
our understanding of hydrology, geology,
16 ARIZONA ALUMNI MAGAZINE
ecology, chemistry and atmospheric
sciences in ways that could never be
replicated in the real world,” says Kimberly
Andrews Espy, senior vice president for
research at the UA.
Under the UA’s stewardship, Biosphere 2
has become a global, multidisciplinary hub
for environmental change research while
also serving the nearly 100,000 visitors who
come to explore the facility every year.
“Biosphere 2 is a living laboratory where
scientists do incredibly compelling work to
better understand our environment,” says
UA President Robert C. Robbins. “This work
is directly applicable to successful crop
growth and even growing food on other
planets. It looks to our collective future
while building on the core competencies
we have here at the UA. I am very grateful
to Mr. Bass for his generosity and for what
this gift will help the University of Arizona
accomplish.”
“Biosphere 2 is the missing link
between the laboratory and the real world,”
says Ruiz. “It’s a single place where we can
integrate forecasting, scenario evaluation
and science-based policy making. I know
the team working at Biosphere 2 shares my
gratitude for Ed Bass’ continued investment
in this project. The world needs more
people with vision like his.”