AsianScientist (Mar. 19, 2015) – Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has partnered the Smithsonian Institution, the world’s largest museum and research complex based in the United States, to advance research in tropical ecology.
The two institutions signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to collaborate on educational and research efforts in the areas of tropical forest, marine ecology and environmental change in Asia. The joint research and educational collaboration will be focused on areas such as biodiversity, forest and marine ecology, climate change, human-environment interactions and genomics.
This is the Smithsonian Institution’s first formal research agreement in Asia. NTU will be established as the Asian scientific hub for the Smithsonian’s Forest Global Earth Observatories program (ForestGEO), a global network of more than 60 tropical and temperate forest plots in 24 countries where scientists examine forest function and diversity.
This landmark MOU was signed on March 17, 2015 by NTU Provost Professor Freddy Boey and Smithsonian’s Interim Under Secretary for Science Dr. W. John Kress at the Smithsonian’s Castle in Washington, D.C, United States. His Excellency Ashok Kumar Mirpuri, Singapore’s Ambassador to the US graced the event as the Guest-of-Honor.
“The partnership with NTU will greatly benefit our Global Earth Observatories initiative and open new avenues for Smithsonian scientists in Asia. Together, NTU and Smithsonian scientists will make discoveries that neither could accomplish alone,” said Kress.
NTU’s new Asian School of the Environment will be the main partner to the Smithsonian Institution, supported by other research centers at the university: the Earth Observatory of Singapore (EOS), the Singapore Center on Environmental Life Sciences Engineering (SCELSE) and the Complexity Institute.
A joint professorship between the two organizations will also be set up, housed at NTU’s Asian School of the Environment. A world-class scientist well-versed in the area of tropical terrestrial ecology will be appointed, who will also act as a conduit and coordinate research projects between NTU and the Smithsonian Institution.
—–
Source: Nanyang Technological University.
Disclaimer: This article does not necessarily reflect the views of AsianScientist or its staff.
