The vast majority of earth’s species are microorganisms. Recent advances in quantifying and visualizing microbial diversity in nature have prompted a new era of microbial exploration, one that builds on the foundations of well established plant and animal biodiversity research.
In an SFI Community Lecture, External Professor Jessica Green describes how she and other scientists are beginning to understand microbial diversity in indoor environments. The research offers new insights about sustainability and human well being.
Watch the lecture (59 minutes, August 17, 2011)
Green is a TED 2011 senior fellow, an assistant professor in the Center for Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Oregon, and co-founder and director of the Biology and the Built Environment (BioBE) Center at the University of Oregon. She is exploring a new area of design termed the “architecture-biology interface” that measures and studies how microbes affect each other and humans in indoor environments.
Watch Jessica Green's July 2011 TED Global talk about microbial diversity in indoor environments (6 minutes), during which she explains why biologists and architects should work together to promote healthier air in hospitals and other buildings.
Listen to Green's KSFR Radio Cafe interview (20 minutes, August 17, 2011)
Read the Santa Fe New Mexican article (August 17, 2011)
Read the Boston Globe article (August 28, 2011)
Read the SmartPlanet article (August 6, 2011)