If you want to study a subset of geological events on earth, also known as Biosphere 1, you might design a miniature system, but what do you do if you want to study the Biosphere 1's entire complex geology, environment and ecology? Well, you build Biosphere 2. And so, in 1987 a vision was born, funded by Ed Bass an ecologically minded philanthropist, to assemble steel, concrete, soil, sea water, and plants to build a model of Biosphere 1 consisting of five biomes and 8 humans who would live for almost two years under the dome. While this unprecedented, 'under the dome' experiment fell short for several unanticipated reasons, the idea was sound, the concepts testable, the facility unique, and the science eventually became rigorous, exciting and yielding results applicable not only to Biosphere 1, our own earth, but also to possibilities of imitating Biosphere 1 extra terrestrially. Today, B2 is the largest earth science living laboratory in which precise scientific explorations are underway as part of the University of Arizona. For the Biosphere 2 research team, a major driving force is the question: "How do biological communities organize and respond to landscape evolution and environmental change?"Biography ~ John Adams, Deputy Director
For two decades, John Adams has helped drive the evolution of Biosphere 2 through positions of progressive responsibility and oversight. Starting in 1995, Adams became Senior Research Specialist at Biosphere 2, leading several experiments each year leading to several publications. Building on his deep knowledge of the facility and its science, Adams became Biosphere 2's Media Coordinator and Public Spokesperson at Columbia University in 1999, fielding B2 inquiries from around the world, building public understanding of the University's groundbreaking earth systems science research and developing its K-12 education programs (Passport to Learning™). At the same time, Adams assumed leadership for B2's exhibits and public outreach staff of 80. After a year in the private industry biotech sector overseeing R&D as well as aspects of sales, marketing, engineering and design for an innovative water treatment technology, Adams' returned to B2 in 2004, bringing his unique institutional knowledge of the facility to bear as a critical member of the B2 transition team. Adams' experience and vision filled critical roles throughout that period in the positions of Facilities Manager, Health & Safety Supervisor, Public Outreach Coordinator and Biological systems manager, culminating in his being named Assistant Director of Planning and Facilities, a mantle he held for seven years. In 2014, Adams advanced to his current leadership role of Biosphere 2 Deputy Director. In part, the promotion marked a return to his roots, engaging as a key member of the team that plans and directs all research and related activities inside Biosphere 2 and the surrounding campus. Beyond research, however, as Deputy Director Adams also holds responsibility for planning and direction of site operations and Under the Glass activities, serving as B2's primary spokesperson and media contact, overseeing biome management, energy management and facilities maintenance and setting the vision for public outreach.
