A John Muir Institute for the Environment is becoming a reality at UC Davis with the appointment of acting director Robert Flocchini, a land, air and water resources professor who specializes in air-pollution research. The institute will serve as an incubator for environmental research projects, providing an opportunity for up to four faculty members each quarter to develop research projects and secure grants, Flocchini said. Named after the Scots-born American naturalist, the institute will be able to draw upon the know-how of more than 100 campus researchers in multiple disciplines to address increasingly complex environmental problems. The institute will be advised by the campus Commission on the Environment and will administer the Tahoe Research Group and some proposed multidisciplinary centers. .