A formal signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego and Max Planck Institutes in Germany took place at Scripps, Friday June 8, 2012.
Tony Haymet, director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography; Meinrat O. Andreae, director of the Biogeochemistry Department at the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Chemistry; and Paul Yu, Associate Vice Chancellor for UC San Diego Research Initiatives, participated in the official signing of an agreement establishing a collaboration between the two institutions.
Lynn Russell, an atmospheric chemist at Scripps Oceanography, was instrumental in bringing scientists from both institutions together to discuss and formalize this collaboration.
"This signing formalizes the ongoing and future collaboration of Scripps and MPI in Earth sciences,” said Russell. “The combined expertise of both institutions will provide a new path forward to understanding and addressing such complex multidisciplinary problems as climate science."
The MOU focuses on collaboration of research, facilities, and students in the fields of biogeochemistry, geosciences, chemistry, and meteorology, and includes the establishment of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego-Max Planck program for Observing the Changing Earth System (SPOCES).
The SPOCES program will bring together the expertise of both institutions to focus on observations of the earth system, and encompass theoretical approaches to understanding the Earth system that may lead to predictive abilities for future changes. It will feature such collaborative activities as joint seminars and symposia, sharing of scientific equipment, and exchange of scientists and students between the research centers involved.
The funding of the SPOCES program activities is based on the contributions of the participating institutions and research centers.