Symposium Background
Since 1995 the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) has hosted thousands of researchers and hundreds of projects that collectively produced many of the most influential recent works in ecology and environmental science. Now one of the leading environmental institutions worldwide in terms of intellectual impact, NCEAS has clearly established the value of collaborative, disciplinary and interdisciplinary synthesis activities as a means to achieve greater scientific generality, generate new knowledge, prioritize research, and inform environmental management and decision-making. NCEAS has also played a key role in developing and advancing the field of ecoinformatics.

In 2011, the National Science Foundation (NSF) concluded its core funding for NCEAS, marking the end of an era. This symposium was convened to acknowledge key individuals associated with NCEAS, to examine trends in ecological analysis and synthesis since 1995, and to identify emerging needs and priorities for future synthesis research. The National Science Foundation Division of Environmental Biology provided funds for the event, and Pacific Standard Magazine co-hosted the opening night’s reception and dinner.

Symposium Organizing Committee
The organizing committee was comprised of NCEAS Science Advisory Board members Cherie Briggs (UCSB, Organizing Committee Chair and local representative), Kathryn Cottingham (Dartmouth College), and Craig Osenberg (University of Florida at Gainesville). These individuals have made major contributions in ecological analysis and synthesis and have been deeply involved in NCEAS activities. Dr. Briggs is a theoretical ecologist interested in disease ecology, population dynamics and systems biology. Dr. Cottingham studies ecosystem structure, community and population dynamics in freshwater and grassland ecosystems. Dr. Osenberg studies population dynamics and species interactions in marine ecosystems.