Ecologist, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Maryland … Associate Professor, Cornell University, New York … Ecologist, MacArthur Agro-Ecology Research Center, Florida … Assistant Professor, Calder Ecology Center, New York … Hydrologist, U.S. Geological Survey, California … Ecologist, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Rhode Island … Ecologist, Ecosystem Rehabilitation Program, Kenya … Director, Australian Research Centre for Urban Ecology … Ecologist, Universität für Bodenkultur, Austria … Assistant Marine Scientist, Institut de Ciencias del Mar, Spain … Ecologist, Museu Nacional, Brazil

These job titles belong to eleven scientists who honed their ecological research skills in the collegial atmosphere of the Institute of Ecosystem Studies' Postdoctoral Program. Twenty-seven other former postdoctoral associates are likewise pursuing careers in ecology, environmental science and related fields, and, as this report is published, eleven more are doing ground-breaking research (sometimes literally, as shown here) at the Institute.

In academic life, scientific findings and ideas must be shared to be useful. Therefore, there is tremendous pressure to publish peer-reviewed manuscripts. It's difficult enough for seasoned scientists and scholars to find time to write for professional journals while they struggle to balance field, laboratory and library research, teaching obligations and administrative obligations on the one hand, with family responsibilities and other personal commitments on the other. It is far more difficult to do all these things as a freshman faculty member. A postdoctoral program provides recent Ph.D. recipients with the time and a place to focus on research, expanding on thesis projects or addressing new questions, and to get a head start on balancing their priorities.

In the words of one of the program's administrators, "Their job is to come here, do research, publish aggressively, and move ahead to a more traditional job at a university or other research facility." Postdoctoral associates typically are at the Institute for two to three years before they move on to a permanent position. During this period, they develop their research program and have the opportunity to broaden their knowledge and hands-on experience in the science of ecosystem ecology through collaborations with IES staff scientists.

And what does the Institute gain from having a steady flow of postdoctoral associates in and out of its laboratories? These young ecologists bring to IES ideas and methods drawn from universities and laboratories around this country and often abroad. Their knowledge, perspective, energy and experiences vitalize and enhance existing IES programs.

Work by the Institute's current postdoctoral associates is varied and far-ranging. Their research subjects include the ecology of Lyme disease; the ecological structure of urban areas, as part of the Baltimore Ecosystem Study; nutrient cycling in the Hudson River; forests and associated aquatic ecosystems of the Mary Flagler Cary Arboretum, the Catskill Mountains, and across New England; and the complexities of soils. Each will leave a unique legacy in the Institute's research program, and will take away new experience, skills and insights to be applied elsewhere.