Aerosols and ozone variability are among the areas studied by Ruth Reck, the new director of the National Institute for Global Environmental Change, based at the University of California, Davis. The 7-year-old federal Energy Department-funded institute, coordinates scientific efforts and resources nationwide to answer questions related to climate change. Such projects as the study of past climates and factors that regulate climate change, natural cycling of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide through oceans and forests and the impact of global warming on natural ecosystems have been funded by the institute since its inception. Center projects are carried out by scientists affiliated with regional NIGEC centers at six universities, including UC Davis, supported by the DOE's Office of Biology and Environmental Research. "Today's research universities and laboratories are grappling with weather questions. Is the weather changing? If it is, what does it mean for our crops, for our resources, for our future?" Reck said. "NIGEC and UC Davis can provide leadership to the nation as it responds to climate change." Reck, who will be affiliated with the UC Davis land, air and water resources department, comes to the institute from the Argonne National Laboratory, where she was the global climate change research director. She also has been for the past four years a principal investigator for the Department of Energy, studying the importance of day-to-day ozone variability. She has served on National Research Council committees studying the effects of aviation and transportation on the atmosphere, among other topics. She holds a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from the University of Minnesota.