Conference: Interactions of Hydrology, Biology and Geochemistry: Creating Synthesis out of Complexity in Catchment Science

The award provides support for participation in the 2025 Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) on “Catchment Science: Interactions of Hydrology, Biology, and Geochemistry” and the associated 2025 Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on “Creating Synthesis out of Complexity in Catchment Science.” The two events are interdisciplinary conferences that prioritize frontier research in catchment science, as well as community building. The GRC and GRS conferences are comprised of presentations of unpublished research from invited speakers, extended discussion periods after each talk, and dedicated time for unstructured research conversations.

The events comprise a fully immersive experience, including shared accommodation and dining, that are designed to intentionally foster new connections amongst participants. The GRC and GRS conferences create a transformative experience where scientists across career stages and disciplines discuss and exchange ideas to push the boundaries of science.

The award will support the participation of 25 students, postdoctoral researchers, and scientists in the GRC, and 21 participants in the GRS.

The conferences address synergistic topics on innovation in catchment science amidst increasingly complex hydrologic stressors and the emergent opportunities and challenges to synthesize large and complex hydrologic data streams. The GRC is subtitled “Creating Synthesis out of Complexity in Catchment Science” and tackles the urgent question of how to take advantage of and synthesize increasing volumes of data across the catchment sciences to understand catchment processes and responses under accelerating environmental change.

The GRS is titled “Navigating Emerging Catchment Stressors Under Global Change” and complements the GRC theme to emphasize innovation in catchment science research amidst increasingly complex hydrologic stressors. The GRC and GRS conferences are important venues to advancing knowledge by bringing together an interdisciplinary audience to promote cutting-edge discussions that share and adapt methods and theories at the intersections of multiple disciplines.

Together the GRC and GRS provide unique opportunities for training, learning and discovery through interaction between and amongst catchment scientists. By supporting registration fees and limited travel expenses for participants, this award will ensure participation by attendees with expertise in interdisciplinary catchment science.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.