Doctoral Dissertation Research: Cold War Convergence: The Making of a Chile-California Scientific Network

地中海型生态系统（mte）占陆地陆地面积的2%，但拥有仅次于湿热带的植物多样性。MTE区域集中在赤道以南或北纬30度至40度之间，以寒冷潮湿的冬季和温暖阳光明媚的夏季为特征，它们在物理上表现出显著的相似性，但对它们进行集体研究的努力相对较新。1971年，来自世界5个MTE地区的生物学家召开了他们的第一次会议。他们合作测试了进化趋同理论，即相似的环境塑造了相似的生命形式。在这个过程中，他们建立了一个基于对这些类似景观的共同关注的全球科学网络。现在，这个分散的研究小组代表了城市化、水资源短缺、野火等方面的关键专业知识。这个项目试图解开和解释一群遥远的科学个体之间的联系成功。尽管没有法律章程或机构从属关系，MTE网络仍然存在——似乎是建立在强大的个人和智力关系的基础上。这个项目的发现将为科学如何跨越国界发挥作用提供见解，并将引起政策制定者、科学家和各行各业的环保主义者的兴趣。研究的重点是智利和加利福尼亚之间的科学联系，这两个MTE地区通常被认为是最相似的。该项目利用档案研究和新的口述历史内容，从采访的关键历史角色来解决三个相关问题：什么科学和理论背景影响了这些科学家的工作关系？​这些关系是否转化为管理决策——它们是否影响了保护技术、保护区边界、火灾管理政策，或者以其他方式塑造了加州和智利的景观？该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Mediterranean-type ecosystems (MTEs) represent two percent of terrestrial landmass but possess a plant diversity that is second only to that of the wet tropics. MTE regions—centered between thirty degrees and forty degrees north or south of the equator, and characterized by cool, wet winters and warm, sunny summers—demonstrate remarkable physical similarities, but efforts to study them collectively are relatively new. In 1971, biologists hailing from the world’s five MTE regions convened their first meeting. They collaboratively tested the evolutionary theory of convergence, the notion that like environments shape like life forms. In the process, they established a global scientific network based on common concern for these analogous landscapes. Now, this decentralized group of researchers represents a key body of expertise around urbanization, water scarcity, wildfires, and more. This project seeks to unpack and explain the connective success of a group of far-flung scientific individuals. Despite having no legal charter or institutional affiliation, the MTE network has endured—seemingly on the basis of strong personal and intellectual relationships. Findings from this project will offer insights into how science functions across national boundaries, and will be of interest to policy makers, scientists, and environmentalists of many stripes.Research focuses upon scientific contact between Chile and California, the two MTE regions often deemed most alike. The project draws upon archival research and new oral history content from interviews with key historical actors to address three related questions: What scientific and theoretical context influenced the working relationships of these scientists? Within the Cold War context, how did broad U.S. foreign policies designed to contain communism influence person-to-person relationships? And did these relationships translate into management decisions—did they influence conservation techniques, protected area boundaries, fire management policies, or in other ways shape the landscapes of California and Chile?This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.