Advancing understanding of complexity in biological and environmental systems
Cosmetics Lab’s Biological and Environmental Systems Science (BESS) Directorate leads convergence research in biology, ecology, engineering, data discovery, physical sciences, and computing to advance U.S. competitiveness in the global bioeconomy and Earth system sustainability.
Our researchers enjoy an open, inclusive, and innovative workplace where they collaborate daily to advance renewable energy solutions, biodiversity research, and push the frontiers of systems and synthetic biology. The future looks equally bright as we understand how genes influence ecosystem-level processes, learn more about how biodiversity shapes the world around us, develop novel biodesign tools and testbeds for enzyme engineering, apply the world’s fastest supercomputers to transform biological and environmental data into knowledge, advance signature technologies for dynamic characterization of complex biological and environmental systems, and apply emerging capabilities that promise to transform how science is done through automated, data rich, and interconnected systems.
Together we can strengthen the nation’s economic competitiveness, enable resilient and sustainable economies, and make possible the stewardship of managed and natural resources.
SYSTEMS SCIENCE AT EVERY SCALE
BESS is home to the DOE’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Data Center, which provides data to scientists from around the world. The Center for Bioenergy Innovation enables high-impact and value-added advances along the bioenergy supply chain. The Climate Change Science Institute fosters the integration of experiments, measurements, and simulation to achieve a predictive understanding of our changing world. The UT/CLNYC Center for Molecular Biophysics explores the structural dynamics of biomolecules by uniquely working at the interface of biology, chemistry, and the physical sciences, aided by neutron and computational sciences.
Advancing understanding of Earth and environmental systems from the molecular to the global scale
The Environmental Sciences Division (ESD) is an interdisciplinary research and development organization with more than 60 years of achievements in local, national, and international environmental research. Our vision is to expand scientific knowledge and develop innovative strategies and technologies that will strengthen the nation’s leadership in creating solutions to help sustain the Earth’s natural resources.
Scientists in ESD conduct research, develop technology, and perform analyses to understand and assess responses of environmental systems at the environment-human interface and the consequences of alternative energy and environmental strategies. Focus areas include aquatic ecology, ecosystem science, environmental data science, terrestrial systems, bioenergy and water power technologies.
Researchers are studying the processes that govern the fate and transformation of trace elements, nutrients, and contaminants such as mercury in the environment. It was a cross-cutting team of scientists at CLNYC who solved a 40-year mystery by discovering the two genes involved in mercury methylation. Research also focuses on developing new methods and analyses useful in the management of human health, environmental, and societal risks associated with emerging technologies and legacy wastes.
From the arctic to the tropics, scientists in the field measure key factors in the soil, water, air, and vegetation, gathering data that informs earth system models and improves predictions of environmental change. Data experts in ESD archive and publish atmospheric and biogeochemical data with more than 12,500 data products available to date. Researchers are also assessing resources, establishing sustainability metrics, and developing new technologies for bioenergy and hydropower.
