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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Fostering Transformative Research in the Geographical Sciences. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21881.
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FOSTERING TRANSFORMATIVE
RESEARCH IN THE
GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCES

Committee on Identifying Transformative Research in the Geographical Sciences

Geographical Sciences Committee

Board on Earth Sciences and Resources

Division on Earth and Life Studies

images

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, DC
www.nap.edu

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Fostering Transformative Research in the Geographical Sciences. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21881.
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THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001

This activity was supported by Grant No. BCS-1263450 from the National Science Foundation. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.

International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-38934-1
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-38934-8
Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.17226/21881

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Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Fostering Transformative Research in the Geographical Sciences. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: https://doi.org/10.17226/21881.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Fostering Transformative Research in the Geographical Sciences. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21881.
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The National Academy of Sciences was established in 1863 by an Act of Congress, signed by President Lincoln, as a private, nongovernmental institution to advise the nation on issues related to science and technology. Members are elected by their peers for outstanding contributions to research. Dr. Marcia McNutt is president.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to bring the practices of engineering to advising the nation. Members are elected by their peers for extraordinary contributions to engineering. Dr. C. D. Mote, Jr., is president.

The National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine) was established in 1970 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to advise the nation on medical and health issues. Members are elected by their peers for distinguished contributions to medicine and health. Dr. Victor J. Dzau is president.

The three Academies work together as the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation and conduct other activities to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions. The National Academies also encourage education and research, recognize outstanding contributions to knowledge, and increase public understanding in matters of science, engineering, and medicine.

Learn more about the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine at www.nationalacademies.org.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Fostering Transformative Research in the Geographical Sciences. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21881.
×

Image

Consensus Study Reports published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine document the evidence-based consensus on the study’s statement of task by an authoring committee of experts. Reports typically include findings, conclusions, and recommendations based on information gathered by the committee and the committee’s deliberations. Each report has been subjected to a rigorous and independent peer-review process and it represents the position of the National Academies on the statement of task.

Proceedings published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine chronicle the presentations and discussions at a workshop, symposium, or other event convened by the National Academies. The statements and opinions contained in proceedings are those of the participants and are not endorsed by other participants, the planning committee, or the National Academies.

For information about other products and activities of the National Academies, please visit www.nationalacademies.org/about/whatwedo.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Fostering Transformative Research in the Geographical Sciences. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21881.
×

COMMITTEE ON IDENTIFYING TRANSFORMATIVE RESEARCH IN THE GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCES

MICHAEL F. GOODCHILD (Chair), University of California, Santa Barbara (emeritus)

AMY K. GLASMEIER, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge

GLEN M. MACDONALD, University of California, Los Angeles

Staff

MARK D. LANGE, Study Director

ELIZABETH A. EIDE, Senior Board Director

NICHOLAS D. ROGERS, Financial and Research Associate

ERIC J. EDKIN, Senior Program Assistant

*Staff and affiliations current as of 2015.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Fostering Transformative Research in the Geographical Sciences. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21881.
×

GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCES COMMITTEE

WILLIAM L. GRAF (Chair), University of South Carolina, Columbia

CAROL P. HARDEN (Vice Chair), University of Tennessee, Knoxville

ANTHONY BEBBINGTON, Clark University, Worcester

JOHN A. KELMELIS, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park

SUSANNE C. MOSER, Susanne Moser Research & Consulting, Santa Cruz, California

DAVID R. RAIN, The George Washington University, Washington, DC

Staff

MARK D. LANGE, Program Officer

NICHOLAS D. ROGERS, Financial and Research Associate

ERIC J. EDKIN, Senior Program Assistant

*Staff and affiliations current as of 2015.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Fostering Transformative Research in the Geographical Sciences. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21881.
×

BOARD ON EARTH SCIENCES AND RESOURCES

ISABEL P. MONTAÑEZ (Chair), University of California, Davis

ESTELLA A. ATEKWANA, University of Delaware, Newark

BRENDA B. BOWEN, The University of Utah, Salt Lake City

CHRISTOPHER (SCOTT) CAMERON, Geological Consulting, LLC, Houston, Texas

NELIA W. DUNBAR, New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, Socorro, New Mexico

RODNEY C. EWING, NAE, Stanford University, California

CAROL P. HARDEN, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville

THORNE LAY, NAS, University of California, Santa Cruz

ROBERT L. KLEINBERG, NAE, Institute for Sustainable Energy at Boston University, Massachusetts

ZELMA MAINE-JACKSON, Washington State Department of Ecology, Richland

MICHAEL MANGA, NAS, University of California, Berkeley

MARTIN W. MCCANN, Stanford University, Menlo Park, California

JEFFREY N. RUBIN, Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue, Tigard, Oregon

JAMES A. SLUTZ, National Petroleum Council, Washington, District of Columbia

SHAOWEN WANG, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

ELIZABETH J. WILSON, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire

Staff

ELIZABETH A. EIDE, Director

ANNE M. LINN, Scholar

DEBORAH GLICKSON, Senior Program Officer

SAMMANTHA L. MAGSINO, Senior Program Officer

NICHOLAS D. ROGERS, Financial Associate

COURTNEY R. DEVANE, Administrative Coordinator

ERIC J. EDKIN, Program Coordinator

CARLY BRODY, Senior Program Assistant

RAYMOND (REMY) CHAPPETTA, Senior Program Assistant

*Staff and affiliations current as of 2019.

Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Fostering Transformative Research in the Geographical Sciences. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21881.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Fostering Transformative Research in the Geographical Sciences. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21881.
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Acknowledgments

This Consensus Study Report was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in making each published report as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality, objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process.

We thank the following individuals for their review of this report:

ANDREW BAZEMORE, Georgetown University

WILLIAM A. V. CLARK, University of California, Los Angeles

JANET FRANKLIN, Arizona State University

ALYSON GREINER, Oklahoma State University

ED HACKETT, Arizona State University

JOHN KUFPAR, University of South Carolina

JOHN TOWNSHEND, University of Maryland, College Park

MAY YUAN, The University of Texas at Dallas

Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations of this report nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this report was overseen by George M. Hornberger, Vanderbilt University, and Robert B. McMaster, University of Minnesota. They were responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with the standards of the National Academies and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content rests entirely with the authoring committee and the National Academies.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Fostering Transformative Research in the Geographical Sciences. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21881.
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The central purpose of all research is to create new knowledge. In the geographical sciences this is driven by a desire to create new knowledge about the relations between space, place, and the anthropogenic and non-anthropogenic features and processes of the Earth. But some research goes beyond these modest aims and creates new opportunities for further research, or affects the process of knowledge acquisition more broadly, or changes the way other researchers in a domain think about the world and go about their business.

Due to its positive impacts, transformative research can be regarded as inherently having greater value than more conventional research, and funding agencies clearly regard transformative research as something to be encouraged and funded through special programs. Assessments of transformative research funding initiatives are few and provide a mixed picture of their effectiveness. The challenge is whether transformative research can be identified at the time it is proposed rather than after it has been conducted, communicated, and its influence on the discipline has become clear. Fostering Transformative Research in the Geographical Sciences reviews how transformative research has emerged in the past, what its early markers were, and makes recommendations for how it can be nurtured in the future.

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