This award supports travel for a US delegation of senior and junior scientists to participate in the U.S.-India Workshop: Articulating and Disseminating Research Priorities on Forest Canopies, Bangalore, October 2009. US PI Kamal Bawa, University of Massachusetts Boston and co-PI Margaret Lowman, New College of Florida are organizing the workshop with Indian host, Dr. T. Ganesh, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, Bangalore. The two-day workshop will follow the 5th International Canopy Conference (www.canopy2009.org) that will bring together the scientists from the U.S., Europe, and Australia who have been pioneers in exploring the forest canopies and have fostered collaborative research in these regions.
Intellectual Merit The post-conference workshop will bring together a sub-set of 30 canopy leaders and an emerging generation of young scientists who will be charged with defining research priorities in canopy science and creating an ambitious plan to foster collaborative research and education programs canopies over the next five to ten years. Additional goals are to highlight the relevance of canopy research to important global challenges, such as climate change, sustainability, and conservation. Its integration with natural science, social science, and information technology is important and will help promote ecological research in Indian forests, the link to global efforts, and insure a sound research platform using multidimensional approaches and the latest technologies.
Broader Impacts The workshop provides opportunities to build international networks, promote increased diversity in the field of canopy ecology, and increase the use of technology to broaden the scope and effectiveness of canopy research. The principal investigators will offer a strong component of education outreach, ranging from public talks for Indian audiences to a series of newspaper articles and efforts to work with K-12 on canopy curricula. The public education outreach lectures will facilitate science communication with Bangalore families, students, and citizens.
