Dr. Michael Auerbach, an ecologist with research experience in desert, tropical and temperate environments, has been appointed executive director of the Desert Research Institute's Division of Earth and Ecosystem Sciences (DEES). Auerbach was recruited from his position of biology department chair at the College/University of Charleston, N.C.
Auerbach will lead an unusual mix of biologists, geologists and archaeologists in studies of the factors which cause landscapes and ecosystems to change. His own research has focused on interactions between plant and insect populations and explaining the factors regulating insect populations in natural settings. The position of division director at DRI is equivalent to a dean in Nevada's university system.
Auerbach said the broad mix of expertise within DEES gives it an advantage in obtaining federal funding for its research objectives. "Over the past decade, many funding agencies, such as the National Science Foundation, have been shifting their emphasis from single investigator projects to multiple investigator, multi- and interdisciplinary projects focused on larger scale, complex problems. The diversity within DEES, and in DRI in general, positions us well to take advantage of many of these new initiatives."
Auerbach previously served as program director for Ecological Studies at the National Science Foundation and as acting director of the Grice Marine Laboratory in Charleston, S.C. Auerbach received his Ph.D. in ecology at Florida State University in 1982.