Support for an International Symposium: Biological Sciences in the 21st Century: Meeting the Challenges of Sustainability in an Era of Global Change

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A symposium entitled "Biological Sciences for the 21st Century: Meeting the Challenges of Sustainable Development in an Era of Global Change" will bring together internationally recognized biologists and environmental scientists to explore the contributions that modern biology can make to the emerging discipline of sustainability science. The symposium asks how key research developments in biology (such as biocomplexity and complex systems analysis; bioinformatics and computational biology; and molecular and genomics research) can help address current challenges such as food security, human health, sustainable energy, and the maintenance of ecosystems and their services. The speakers will present new research findings, and identify new approaches and needs in biological research, that together will provide a framework for advancing understanding of sustainability science. The symposium will be the first to integrate how ongoing advances across the biological sciences can address key global challenges to sustainability. Special effort will be made to motivate graduate and postdoctoral students in biology to expand the boundaries of sustainability science. Through a unique program of outreach, it is hoped that this symposium will catalyze numerous local and regional meetings and encourage further discussions at universities around the world with respect to the potential for modern biology to contribute to the entire sustainability science research portfolio.