Director, Biosphere 2

The Director of Biosphere 2 is a proven global leader who provides executive scientific and strategic leadership for the University of Arizonas Biosphere 2 facility the worlds largest controlled Earth-systems science laboratory encompassing integrated biomes including the iconic tropical rainforest ocean desert and savanna. The Director advances Biosphere 2 as a globally recognized center for interdisciplinary research immersive education public engagement and mission-aligned visitor and retreat experiences in support of the Universitys research mission and land-grant responsibilities.

A central responsibility and focus of the Director will be to grow the extramural grant funded portfolio of the Biosphere 2 and to elevate its scientific standing and international reputation. The Director in consultation with U of A faculty and external national and international leading scientists will drive the development of a new scientific strategy for the Biosphere 2 that will help meet these goals over the short to mid-term.

The Director holds a faculty appointment with associated research and teaching responsibilities and exercises broad authority and independent judgment in setting scientific priorities guiding institutional strategy cultivating philanthropic and research partnerships and stewarding Biosphere 2s financial human and physical resources. The Director provides leadership to the Biosphere 2 executive and scientific team including the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Research Directors.

The Director will hold a tenured or tenure-eligible faculty appointment in an appropriate academic unit with corresponding expectations.

Outstanding U of A benefits include health dental and vision insurance plans; life insurance and disability programs; paid vacation sick leave and holidays; U of A/ASU/NAU tuition reduction for the employee and qualified family members; retirement plans; access to U of A recreation and cultural activities; and more!

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ScientificVision 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 2s mesoscale closed and semi-closed biomesincluding the tropical rain forestto address critical questions in ecosystem resilience water and carbon cycling and environmental futures.
• Maintain an active externally funded research program aligned with Biosphere 2s 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 2s 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 novelresearch programs outside the currentemphasis and scope of Biosphere 2 that will grow its scale and impact.

FacultyRole 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 & Partnerships 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 2s 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 2s research and education mission. This should be done in collaboration with the Office of Research & Partnerships Museums and External Engagement leadership.

VisitorExperience 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 2s role in addressing global environmental challenges.
• Elevate and expand Biosphere 2s 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 learningpiloting innovative engagement models gathering data on visitor impacts and iteratively improving programs based on evaluation and research insights.

StrategicPartnerships 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 2s scientific and public mission.
• Advance diversified mission consistent growing revenue streamsincluding sponsored research philanthropic investments educational programs and high-quality visitor and retreat offeringsto 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 2s 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 2s 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.

• Terminal degree in a relevant field such as ecology Earth and environmental sciences atmospheric sciences hydrology geosciences environmental engineering systems engineering data/computational sciences or a closely related discipline.
• Scholarly accomplishments national or international reputation and academic credentials sufficient for appointment as a tenured associate or full professor at the University of Arizona.
• Record of externally funded research and scholarship consistent with a mature and internationally recognized program in areas relevant to Biosphere 2 (e.g. Earthsystems science climate and ecosystem dynamics biogeochemistry water and carbon cycling environmental futures or spaceanalog research).
• Demonstrated success leading interdisciplinary and crosssector research collaborations including development of largescale proposals centers institutes teamscience campaigns or other complex multiinvestigator initiatives that leverage shared infrastructure.
• Experience working effectively with faculty department heads deans center and museum/visitorexperience directors and senior university leadership to align facility strategy with institutional priorities.
• Administrative leadership experience that includes strategic planning personnel supervision budget oversight and organizational management in a researchintensive and/or complex operational environment.
• Demonstrated ability to build trust foster collaboration and create value across colleges disciplines and organizational boundaries including integration of research visitor experience and retreat/conference activities.
• Demonstrated commitment to faculty leadership shared governance and a respectful inclusive academic and workplace environment.

• Experience leading or helping shape a research institute field station observatory large laboratory facility museum/science center department division or similarly complex academic or scientific enterprise that integrates research and public engagement.
• Demonstrated success translating Earthsystems or environmental research into sustained external funding strategic partnerships public value and/or policy or societal impact (e.g. climate resilience water sustainability ecosystem management).
• Experience aligning facility and research strategy with institutional and campuswide priorities in a large public research university including integration with educational outreach and extension missions.
• Demonstrated ability to identify emerging scientific and societal opportunities organize highperforming interdisciplinary teams and move initiatives from concept through design implementation evaluation and impact.
• Experience engaging industry government tribal community nonprofit or philanthropic partners in support of environmental science sustainability climate or related research and innovation.
• Knowledge of largescale environmental research infrastructure (e.g. mesocosms longterm ecological experiments observatories or analogous platforms) and the opportunities created by integrated research architectures that connect physical facilities data systems and public/educational programs.