Organization
The Darwin Center for Biogeosciences integrates excellent research groups into one national institute. The following institutions are participating in the Darwin Center:
- Utrecht University
- Netherlands Institute of Ecology
- Radboud University Nijmegen
- Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research
- VU University Amsterdam
- Wageningen University and Research Centre
- University of Amsterdam
Penvoerder
One institution acts as consortium leader, in this case Utrecht University. Utrecht University is responsible for coordinating the cooperation between all participants.
The board
The board decides on the general policy of the Darwin Center. The board of the Darwin Center consists of representatives of each of the participating institutions. The board is chaired by an independent person nominated by NWO/ALW. All members have equal voting rights, except for the chairman who has no vote. The board appoints the directors.
The board supervises the progress of the research taking place in the Darwin Center and assesses this against the background of the research plan. They will do so on the basis of a yearly report, produced by the management, that summarizes the research output, activities organised, exchange of scientists, and international contacts.
Board
Dr. H. Speelman (chairman)
Prof. dr. G.J. van der Zwaan (UU)
Prof. dr. P. van Tienderen (UvA)
Prof. dr. B. Oudega (VU)
Ir. C. T. Slingerland
(WUR)
Prof. dr. S.E. Wendelaar Bonga
(RU)
Prof. dr. L. Vet (NIOO)
Prof. dr. C. Heip (NIOZ)
Directors
The Darwin Center has a managing team consisting of a scientific director and a managing director. The chair of the managing team, the scientific director, is responsible for coordinating the activities of the managing team and for maintaining the contacts with the Board on the one hand, and the Scientific Steering Committee on the other. The managing director is responsible for the Office of the Darwin Center from which all administrative duties are performed. The scientific director is selected from the leaders of the participating research groups.
The directors together with the Scientific Steering Committee are responsible for taking care that quality of the centre is maintained and improved.
Scientific director
Prof. dr. J.J. Middelburg
T: +31 113 577 476
F: +31 113 573 616
E: j.middelburg@nioo.knaw.nl
Managing director
Dr. B.R. Leeflang
T: +31 30 253 4980
F: +31
30 254 0604
E: b.r.leeflang@geo.uu.nl
The Office of the Darwin Center
The Darwin Center has a central office in which qualified personnel takes care of administration and communication. It is responsible for supporting the review procedure of the scientific programs and maintaining the website.
Office
Tanja Kouwenhoven
T: +31 30 253 5169
F: +31 30 253 3486
E: t.kouwenhoven@geo.uu.nl
Marjolein Boonstra (administation)
T: +31 30 253 8161
F: +31 30 253 3486
E: boonstra@geo.uu.nl
Suzanne Frieters-Lint (communication)
T: +31 30 253 5106
F: +31 30 253 4508
E: s.frieters@geo.uu.nl
Scientific Steering Committee
The Scientific Steering Committee is composed of the leaders of the research groups, one for each of the participating institutions. Together with the scientific director, the committee is responsible for the research strategy.
Scientific Steering Committee
Prof. dr. J.J. Middelburg (UU)
Prof. dr. H. Hooghiemstra (UvA)
Prof. dr. R. Aerts (VU)
Prof. dr. A.J.M. Stams (WUR)
Prof. dr. ir. M.S.M. Jetten (RU)
Prof. dr. H.J. Laanbroek (NIOO)
Prof. dr. ir. J.S. Sinninghe Damsté (NIOZ)
International Advisory Board
On the 21st of December 2007, the Board of the Darwin Center implemented the International Advisory Board (IAB) of the Darwin Center, with the following experts in Biogeology as members:
Prof. Dr. Jelle Bijma (chair)
| Institute | Marine Biogeosciences, AWI- Bremerhaven, DE |
| Expertise | Global biogeochemical cycles; Paleoclimatology; Stable isotope and trace element geochemistry; Biomineralisation; Population dynamics of planktic Foraminifera. |
Prof. Dr. John Birks
| Institute | Department of Biology University of Bergen, NO. Also ENSIS Professor of Quantitative Palaeoecology, Environmental Change Research Centre, University College London and Adjunct Professor, Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario. |
| Expertise | Quaternary pollen analysis, vegetational history, quantitative palaeoecology, and palaeolimnology. Community plant ecology. Numerical approaches for the analysis of plant-geographical data. |
Prof. dr. Terry V. Callaghan
| Institute | Royal Swedisch Academy of Sciences' Abisko Scientific Research Station, Sweden Department Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, UK |
| Expertise | Ecosystem processes in the arctic environment. The research has two components: seeking to understand mechanisms of survival and adaptation to arctic environments, and assessing the responses of organisms and ecosystems to changing environmental conditions. |
Associate professor dr. Katrina Edwards
| Institute | Division of Marine Environmental Biology. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, USA |
| Expertise | Geomicrobiology, microbial biogeochemistry, microbial transformations of Earth materials. |
Associate professor dr. Andy Ridgwell
| Institute | School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, UK |
| Expertise | Environmental Sciences, Global Carbon cycle (and other biogeochemical cycles), Earth System modelling/Global process modelling. |
Prof. Dr. Howard Spero (not available until 2009)
| Institute | Department of Geology, University of California, Davis, USA |
| Expertise | Biological and environmental parameters that affect the stable isotope and trace metal geochemistry of the shells of recent and fossil organisms; paleoclimatology, marine micropaleontology, and paleoceanography. |