National Ecological Observatory Network

Greetings! 

While many people think things slow down as the year wraps up, that’s definitely not the case at NEON. The Domains have been busy wrapping up seasonal data collection and sample preparation as well as hiring for next season's temporary field staff positions. To learn more about open positions visit the careers page on Battelle's website.

NEON kicked off the new Innovation Advisory Committee with its first meeting this month. This group of NEON data users with expertise in AI will help NEON identify and prioritize opportunities posed by emerging and advanced technologies—starting with AI and machine learning—to boost NEON’s operational efficiency and scientific impact. Aligned with this, we are working to develop AI-ready research data infrastructure to make ecological and biodiversity data easier to find, share, and integrate into advanced models. This work is being done through a separate NSF award led through the Imageomics Institute at The Ohio State University. Check out the NEON in the News section for details.

Last month, we welcomed members of the agricultural production community to our North Sterling NEON field site in Colorado and hosted a workshop for the NSF ASCEND Engine-funded project Experimental Digital Twin for Ecosystems: Water, Soil, and Drought. You can learn more about this effort and the involved partners in the Featured Experts section of this newsletter. 

Looking ahead, we are pleased to present the last installment in our 2025 Science Seminar Series. Join us on Dec. 9, at 12pm MT for the virtual event "MONet Campaigns for Soil Molecular and Microstructural AI Analysis and Advanced Modeling at Scale." For more details and registration, please visit the event page on NEON's website. We kick off the 2026 series on Jan.13, with “Distributed Sensing and Edge Computing”. Keep an eye on NEON's social channels for more details and when registration is open.

Finally, if you’re attending the American Geophysical Union (AGU) conference in New Orleans next month, please stop by the Battelle booth and say hello to our NEON team. We're contributing to a variety of sessions throughout the event and would love to connect with you there.

Sincerely,  
Paula Mabee,
Chief Scientist and Observatory Director at NEON, Battelle