NCEAS and the Future of Environmental Data Science
We are really lucky to have the opportunity to hear from Ben to reflect on the many incredible advances that have been made at NCEAS over the years.
—Ruth Oliver, Assistant Professor, Bren School
This seminar will be presented in person only; there will be no live remote viewing available. Please join us in Bren Hall 1414.
ABSTRACT
The National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) opened its doors 30 years ago, ushering in a new era of open science, team science and environmental data science. To set the stage for exploring the future of environmental data science, I will first reflect on NCEAS’s past and its influence on the fields of ecology and environmental science. Much of this past strongly influences the current activities and initiatives at NCEAS, and I’ll share how this context shapes my thinking on where we are headed. The future of environmental data science, in the face of the ongoing rapid advances in next gen AI, is one of both great promise and some peril, and the decisions we make now could strongly influence which way the scale tips. In sharing the vision for the future of NCEAS, I hope to inspire all to actively engage in shaping that future.
BIO
Dr. Ben Halpern is the Director of the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) and Professor in the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at UC Santa Barbara. He has published nearly 300 peer-reviewed articles and was named one of the World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds by Thompson-Reuters. In 2016 he was awarded the A.G Huntsman Award for Excellence in Marine Science by the Royal Society of Canada, in 2017 the Peter Benchley Ocean Award for Excellence in Science and a Fellow of the California Academy of Sciences, in 2018 the Ocean Award in Science, and in 2020 elected a Fellow of the Ecological Society of America. Dr. Halpern’s research leverages environmental data science and synthesis to address a wide range of topics centered on the many ways that human activities are impacting ocean ecosystems and species, and the consequences of those impacts on the benefits we receive in return.