NMNH Tenant Organizations

Center for Tropical Forest Science
Smithsonian Institution Global Earth Observatory
The Center for Tropical Forest Science (CTFS) is a global network of forest research plots committed to the study of tropical and temperate forest function and diversity. The multi-institutional network comprises more than forty forest re-search plots across the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Europe, with a strong focus on tropical regions. CTFS monitors the growth and survival of about 4.5 million trees of approximately 8,500 species. CTFS conducts long-term, large-scale research on forests around the world to: increase scientific understanding of forest ecosystems, guide sustainable forest management and natural-resource policy, monitor the impacts of climate change, and build capacity in forest science The Smithsonian Institution Global Earth Observatory (SIGEO) is an outgrowth of and companion to the Center for Tropical Forest Science (CTFS). SIGEO builds on and expands the CTFS global network of forest plots, transforming it into a platform for a broader range of scientific investigations.

The CTFS SIGEO relocated from previous headquarters at Harvard University to NMNH in 2012. This move to NMNH enhances coordination efforts for the 46-plot research network, which partners with more than 75 institutions in 21 countries, including NMNH, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI), and Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC). Contact: Stuart J. Davies

Council of American Overseas Research Centers
Founded in 1981, the Council of American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC) is a private not-for-profit federation of independent overseas research centers that promote advanced research, particularly in the humanities and social sciences, with focus on the conservation and recording of cultural heritage and the understanding and interpretation of modern societies. CAORC fosters research projects across national boundaries, encourages collaborative research and programmatic and administrative coherence among member centers, and works to expand their resource base and service capacity.

CAORC member centers maintain a permanent presence in the host countries where they operate—in Europe, Latin America, the Near and Middle East, South and Southeast Asia, and West Africa. The centers are the primary vehicle through which American scholars carry out research vital to our understanding of and intersection with other cultures. Some centers have existed for over a century while others were founded in the decade’s following World War II in response to American scholarly needs and host country invitations. Nearly four hundred American universities, colleges, and museums hold multiple memberships in the centers which serve their institutional members, individual fellows and members, as well as affiliated scholars through a broad range of research- and teaching-support services. Funding is awarded from sources including the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of Education, and the Smithsonian Institution, as well as from private foundations and individuals. Contact: Mary Ellen Lane