Director, Biosphere 2

Scientific Vision, Credibility, and Research Leadership: Establish and communicate a compelling scientific vision and strategic roadmap that positions Biosphere 2 as a trusted, world class platform for rigorous, hypothesis driven, and externally validated Earth systems research, building on its evolution from experimental curiosity to credible, peer reviewed science. Lead development of a growing and coherent research portfolio that leverages Biosphere 2’s mesoscale, closed and semi-closed biomes—including the tropical rain forest—to address critical questions in ecosystem resilience, water and carbon cycling, and environmental futures. Maintain an active, externally funded research program aligned with Biosphere 2’s capabilities, publish in high impact peer reviewed venues, and elevate the scholarly visibility and credibility of Biosphere 2 and the University of Arizona. Catalyze large, multi-investigator, and multi-institutional research campaigns (e.g., ecosystem scale drought and rewetting experiments in the tropical rain forest) that results in significant increases in extramural grant funding from federal, philanthropic, and other sources. These campaigns will fully exploit Biosphere 2’s ability to integrate instrumentation, modelling, and field style experimentation at ecosystem scale. Foster robust collaborations across U of A colleges and with national and international partners, federal agencies, national laboratories, industry, Philanthropies, and nonprofits to secure major grants, shared infrastructure investments, and long term research programs. Leverage the capabilities of this unique facility to create novel research programs outside the current emphasis and scope of Biosphere 2 that will grow its scale and impact. Faculty Role, Education, and Talent Development: Hold a faculty appointment with expectations for a strong research portfolio and contributions to graduate and undergraduate education, including mentoring of students, postdoctoral scholars, and early career researchers who use Biosphere 2 as a living laboratory. Design and support interdisciplinary educational programs, field courses, and research experiences that connect campus to Biosphere 2, including intensive research camps in the biomes. This should be done in collaboration with the Office of Research Partnership’s Museums and External Engagement leadership. Build pipelines for talent by partnering with departments and centers to recruit and support faculty whose work can leverage Biosphere 2’s unique infrastructure (e.g., ecology, hydrology, atmospheric sciences, environmental engineering, data science). Champion training and participation, integrating community engagement, citizen science, and workforce development into Biosphere 2’s research and education mission. This should be done in collaboration with the Office of Research Partnership’s Museums and External Engagement leadership. Visitor Experience, Public Engagement, and Retreat Strategy: Co-lead, in partnership with the Museum/Visitor Experience Executive Director and relevant U of A units, a unified strategy for world class visitor experiences that integrate storytelling about cutting edge research, such as tropical rain forest drought and carbon cycle experiments, into tours, exhibits, and digital content. Align public programming, exhibitions, and interpretation with active research campaigns, ensuring that visitors encounter authentic, up-to-date science and understand Biosphere 2’s role in addressing global environmental challenges. Elevate and expand Biosphere 2’s retreat and conference facilities as a distinctive venue for scientific workshops, leadership retreats, student programs, and mission aligned external events, integrating the setting and biomes into curated educational and experiential offerings. Serve as a visible public ambassador for Biosphere 2, representing the facility to the media, policymakers, community partners, and the broader public, and ensuring messaging reinforces scientific credibility and institutional reputation. Use visitor and retreat operations as platforms for learning—piloting innovative engagement models, gathering data on visitor impacts, and iteratively improving programs based on evaluation and research insights. Strategic Partnerships, Philanthropy, and Revenue Innovation: Partner with University Advancement to cultivate, steward, and grow philanthropic relationships that support research infrastructure (e.g., advanced instrumentation in the rain forest, ocean, and other biomes), endowed positions, educational programs, and capital improvements. Develop and steward strategic partnerships with foundations, corporations, and governmental and international organizations that align with Biosphere 2’s scientific and public mission. Advance diversified, mission consistent growing revenue streams—including sponsored research, philanthropic investments, educational programs, and high-quality visitor and retreat offerings—to support long-term financial resilience. Ensure that revenue generating activities reinforce, rather than dilute, scientific excellence and credibility, using clear principles to balance research access, public access, and facility use. Organizational, Facilities, and Infrastructure Leadership: Provide executive leadership for Biosphere 2’s organizational structure, culture, and governance, ensuring an environment of excellence, collaboration, safety, respect, and inclusion across research, operations, visitor services, and retreat functions. Lead and mentor the senior leadership team, including the Chief Operating Officer and key research and visitor experience leaders, setting clear expectations, shared priorities, and mechanisms for cross-functional planning and decision making. Oversee long-term facilities and infrastructure strategy so that Biosphere 2’s biomes, laboratories, and retreat/meeting spaces are modern, reliable, and optimized for current and future research campaigns and visitor use, while delegating day-to-day operations to the COO. Advance data, cyberinfrastructure, and instrumentation capabilities (e.g., integrated ecosystem monitoring in the biomes) to enable high resolution, open, and interoperable datasets that increase the global research value of Biosphere 2. Ensure compliance with university, state, and federal requirements, risk management best practices, and environmental and cultural stewardship expectations associated with operating a high-profile scientific facility and visitor destination.