Biological & Environmental Research Information System
Concerted communication is key to progress in cutting-edge science and public accountability. With support from the Department of Energy’s
(DOE) Office of Science, the Biological & Environmental Research Information System (BERIS) has for 20 years been the primary communication resource supporting the genome programs of DOE’s Biological and Environmental Research (BER) program. In 2009, our focus shifted to encompass communicating all of BER’s science.
Integrating all facets of biological and environmental research is critical for spurring innovation at the most rapid pace and at the lowest cost. Moreover, scientific research involves a wide array of technologies, many just emerging, with new types of datasets that must be available to a larger, interdisciplinary research community. As such, BERIS seeks to facilitate and accelerate this integration and access through technical communication that spans diverse research areas.
Communication products help link disparate disciplinary scientists whose talents are needed to achieve the productive discourse and scientific results that will ensure timely fulfillment of pressing DOE missions in energy and environment. In addition, this communication ultimately helps foster U.S. competitiveness through growth in the industrial and environmental sectors of the biotechnology industry, which has benefitted from DOE research.
As tools to support these advances, BERIS communication strategies are flexible and evolve along with programmatic needs. We work with DOE staff and the broad scientific community to communicate biological and environmental science challenges and research results to help stimulate advances at interdisciplinary interfaces; facilitate programmatic planning, research, and communication; democratize access to the growing bounty of resources and data; and to help drive more-informed scientific and societal discourse.
