About Us

At the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC), we believe all environmental problems are social problems by nature. As a result, we have spent the past 10 years bringing together people with diverse skills, data, knowledge, and perspectives who share a commitment to solving some of the most vexing environmental and social problems facing our world. 

Funded by an award from the National Science Foundation to the University of Maryland, SESYNC opened its doors in 2011. From the outset, we have sought to accelerate interdisciplinary collaboration that can lead to innovative scientific discovery. Today, we share the knowledge we've gained over the past decade as a synthesis center in hopes of fostering interdisciplinary research beyond our doors. We encourage you to explore our Research and Resource collections to learn more. 

SESYNC brings together the science of the natural world with the science of human behavior and decision making to solve complex environmental problems.

Our Story & Impact

SESYNC adaptively developed and grew its structure, services, and programs to enable deep integration of the ideas, values, and epistemologies of its diverse researchers and learners. Integrated sets of organizational practices —“the SESYNC process”—and dispositional learning opportunities—“the Immersion Program”—enhanced research, team outcomes, and interdisciplinary capacity. The number and depth of scholarly products, the career paths of its graduate and postdoctoral fellows, and the many new collaborations spawned from the Center reflect SESYNC’s successes.

Our Story & Impact

341
Supported Projects
Including postdoctoral fellowships, workshops, team synthesis projects, short courses, & more.
4,791
Researchers
From academia, government, non-governmental organizations, the private sector, & more.
77
Individual Countries
Represented by our research community.
750+
Peer-Reviewed Publications
Resulting from our supported research.
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Researchers

People

Learn more about our founders, staff, advisers, and in-residence researchers.

People

Resources for SESYNC Teams

Current SESYNC-supported researchers can find information here about our facilities and accessibility, our travel and reimbursement policies, and our resources for researchers—including computational support.

Resources for Teams

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Researchers around a table discussion ideas
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National Science Foundation Logo
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University of Maryland Logo

 

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Resources for the future logo
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Center for Environmental Science logo

 

Our Partners

SESYNC is supported by an award from the U.S. National Science Foundation (Grant numbers DBI-1052875 and DBI-1639145) to the University of Maryland with additional support from the University of Maryland, the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, and Resources for the Future.