Dr. Joaquin Ruiz: Director, Biosphere 2, Thomas R. Brown Chair, Professor, Geosciences
Monday, May 11, 2026, 3:00-4:00 pm, Koffler Great Room at ASA and Zoom
Biosphere 3 establishes the University of Arizona as the global leader in closed-loop autonomous experimentation for Earth system science. Biosphere 3 operates as a Physical AI training ground where AI agents generate hypotheses, design experiments, and direct autonomous systems to execute them across Biosphere 2’s living ecosystems. As a virtual, AI-powered version, digital models will allow scientists to run simulations, improve climate models, and test long-term environmental changes much faster than in real life.
The platform integrates AI-driven hypothesis generation (“what if” scenarios), automated physical experimentation, and continuous learning loops within Biosphere 2’s controlled-environment infrastructure—creating a unified system where AI agents design experiments, robotic systems execute them, and machine learning analyzes results to refine subsequent iterations. This closed-loop architecture directly aligns with the federal mandate for ‘autonomous and AI-augmented experimentation’ across priority scientific domains.