Workshop: Design and Scientific Merit of the Variable Atmosphere Laboratory (VAL), to be held on March 6 - 7, 2008 in Tempe, AZ.

该奖项将资助一个讲习班，讨论研究大气组成和气候对生物和地球过程的影响的国家设施(VAL，可变大气实验室)的科学原理和设计。这个设施的暂定地点将是亚利桑那州立大学理工学院校园。VAL被设想为包含大约50个陆地和20个水生“迷你世界”，其中大气成分、温度、湿度、紫外线辐射、大气压力和光周期都可以控制。VAL将服务于广泛的研究领域，包括地质学、古生物学、生态学、植物生理学、动物生理学、天体生物学和环境毒理学。Val的创建将为美国提供对过去和未来气候变化影响进行实验分析的主要设施，并将是合理规划可持续地球的关键一步。教育外展将是VAL的一个重要组成部分。学校团体将能够参观该设施，网络摄像头和基于网络的数据系统将允许学校团体观察和参与正在进行的实验。对学生和公众进行有关全球变化影响的教育将是VAL的中心主题。研讨会的目的是收集关于VAL设计和建造的不同的专家意见，特别强调确定：1)目前没有VAL就无法以经济高效的方式解决的最重要的科学问题，以及2)VAL成功所必需的关键设计特征。由于VAL所涵盖的领域广泛，来自不同领域的专家必须考虑VAL的设计和科学原理。研讨会将在亚利桑那州立大学社会动力学和复杂性中心举行。研讨会的成果将是一份白皮书，将提交给一份普通的美国科学期刊，并将作为资助建设Val的提案的基础。Val的建设最终将需要多个机构的大力支持，如能源部、NASA、NIH、NOAA、EPA和NSF。

This award will fund a workshop to discuss the scientific rationale for and design of a national facility (VAL, Variable Atmosphere Laboratory) to study the effects of atmospheric composition and climate on biological and earth processes. The tentative location of this facility would be the Arizona State University Polytechnic campus. VAL is envisioned as containing approximately 50 terrestrial and 20 aquatic "mini-worlds" in which atmospheric composition, temperature, humidity, UV radiation, atmospheric pressure and light cycle can be controlled. VAL would serve a wide variety of research fields, including geology, paleontology, ecology, plant physiology, animal physiology, astrobiology and environmental toxicology. Creation of VAL would provide the U.S. with the premier facility for experimental analysis of the effects of past and future climate change, and would be a critical step in rational planning for a sustainable earth. Educational outreach will be an important component of VAL. School groups will be able to tour the facility, and web cams and web-based data systems will allow school groups to observe and participate in on-going experiments. Educating students and the general public on the impacts of global change will be a central theme of VAL. The purpose of the workshop is to gather diverse, expert opinion on the design and construction of VAL, with a special emphasis on the identification of: 1) the most important scientific problems that cannot currently be addressed in a cost-effective manner without VAL, and 2) key design features necessary for the success of VAL. Because of the breadth of fields encompassed by VAL, it is critical that the design and scientific rationale for VAL be considered by experts from diverse fields. The workshop will be held at the Center for Social Dynamics and Complexity at Arizona State University.The product of the workshop will be a white paper, which will be submitted to a general US science journal, and will serve as the basis for proposals to fund construction of VAL. Construction of VAL will eventually require significant support from multiple agencies such as DOE, NASA, NIH, NOAA, EPA and NSF.