Ecology Department Core Capabilities

The Ecology Department of The Earth Sciences Division at LBNL intends to maintain the highest quality and highest visibility for its research and development in seven R&D areas that are largely integrated, but contain some domains that are not inclusive. These six areas are considered the Ecology Deparment's core competencies:

core capability wheel Soil Systems Advanced Technology Bioenergy Biofuels Water Resources Human Health

Advanced Technology

Research focus is in the area of microbial ecology and includes the examination of phylogenetic diversity in natural environments.  The laboratory uses molecular approaches to study the dynamics of microbial community structure under changing environmental conditions. This includes the development of new techniques to dissect the microbial diversity of complex ecosystems.... read more »

Bioenergy Biofuel

Concerns about global warming, dependence on foreign oil, and rising gasoline prices have spurred a strong interest in bioenergy in the United States. Ecology Department scientists will be contributing their expertise in microbiology, molecular microbial ecology, and bacterial metabolism to a scientific challenge of great national importance: the efficient production of biofuels.... read more »

Human Health

Microbial community profiling, "Omics", Metagenomics, Metaproteomics, etc..... read more »

Soil Systems

Microbial community profiling, "Omics", Metagenomics, Metaproteomics, etc..... read more »

Water Resources

The HEADS research focus area has established a strong track record in the rapidly growing, new subject area of Ecological Engineering. The term “hydroecological engineering” signifies the group’s concentration on water resources and wastewater engineering.... read more »