Chapman professor tackles conservation, sustainability through research in forests around the world
Associate professor of biology Gregory Goldsmith sat down with The Panther to discuss his on-the-ground work in forest ecology, his passion for education and his recent publication in the prestigious science journal Nature. Photos courtesy of Drew Fulton
Away from the precisely trimmed bushes and meticulously designed flower arrangements outside of Chapman’s Memorial Lawn, Gregory Goldsmith spends his time in forests all over the world, under thick canopies of vegetation where vines are endless and treetops touch the clouds.
As a plant physiological ecologist, Goldsmith embarks on extensive field campaigns in the depths of forests to study how plants function in relation to their environment. His escapades can last anywhere from two weeks to eight months, sometimes traveling with a group as small as three or as large as 30. His research has taken him to Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, Peru, Brazil, Singapore and more.
“What I love about working in tropical forests is that any day, around any corner that you turn, there’s the possibility that you discover something new,” Goldsmith said. “We know so little about what lives here on planet Earth, and there’s so much work left to be done just to find and describe all of the planet’s biodiversity. There’s an enormous privilege in knowing that you could be someone who finds something new, and that could lead to something being saved or lead to ways in which that knowledge helps the planet at large.”
“What I love about working in tropical forests is that any day, around any corner that you turn, there’s the possibility that you discover something new. We know so little about what lives here on planet Earth, and there’s so much work left to be done just to find and describe all of the planet’s biodiversity. There’s an enormous privilege in knowing that you could be someone who finds something new, and that could lead to something being saved or lead to ways in which that knowledge helps the planet at large.”
In August, Goldsmith’s latest research, titled “Tropical forests are approaching critical temperature thresholds,” was published in Nature — one of the most prestigious and reputable science journals in the world. The study was conducted along with 17 co-authors including Chapman associate professor Dr. Joshua Fisher, and it was also funded by NASA, Department of Education and Training — Australian Research Council and the Natural Environment Research Council, the latter of which is based in the U.K.
Goldsmith has conducted research in Singapore and a variety of countries in South America, including Mexico, Brazil and Costa Rica.
Their study analyzed how close tropical forests are to reaching critical temperature limits due to changes in the climate. When plants reach these limits, their ability to produce sugar through photosynthesis stops, and they experience a sort of “heatstroke.” Goldsmith and his peers utilized both on-the-ground equipment and NASA thermal imaging to measure the temperature of leaves and reach their conclusions.
“The part that’s exciting about Nature (journal) is that you have the opportunity to tell the story to broader audiences in ways that one doesn’t have in other journals…” Goldsmith said. “Usually, you may get some press attention for an interesting study, but Nature brings with it a platform to communicate science to a much broader audience.”
After growing up in a suburb outside of Boston, Goldsmith attended Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, where he graduated with a bachelor’s in biology and environmental studies. He credits a trip to the Barro Colorado Island in Panama under an undergraduate research fellowship as a turning point in his career.
He later earned a doctoral degree in integrative biology from the University of California, Berkeley in 2012 and took part in two post-doctoral research associates — one at the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford and one as a Marie Curie Fellow at the Paul Scherrer Institut in Zurich. He has published over 60 studies in his field.
“I saw ecology as an excuse to have a career that involved being outdoors and being in nature,” Goldsmith told The Panther. “I also saw ecology as holding enormous potential to help explain the things that we see in the world around us and to use that information for the sake of things like conservation and making the environment a more sustainable place for the organisms that are there and the people that interact with it.”
“I saw ecology as an excuse to have a career that involved being outdoors and being in nature. I also saw ecology as holding enormous potential to help explain the things that we see in the world around us and to use that information for the sake of things like conservation and making the environment a more sustainable place for the organisms that are there and the people that interact with it.”
Although he still gets his hands dirty in forest soil, Goldsmith found a greater purpose in the classroom when he came to Chapman in 2017 as an assistant professor of biology. He now serves as an associate professor of biology and the assistant dean for research and development in the university’s Schmid College of Science and Technology.
“I've always seen teaching as the way in which I can empower the people around me to do great things for the world,” Goldsmith said. “I’ve never felt that the next research study that I do will fundamentally be the thing that transforms how we relate to the environment or conservation. I’ve always thought that the multiplicative effect of teaching 20, 50, 100 or 200 students, and empowering them to reach their full potential, was the way in which I was most likely to affect change in the world around me.”
“I’ve always seen teaching as the way in which I can empower the people around me to do great things for the world. I’ve never felt that the next research study that I do will fundamentally be the thing that transforms how we relate to the environment or conservation. I’ve always thought that the multiplicative effect of teaching 20, 50, 100 or 200 students, and empowering them to reach their full potential, was the way in which I was most likely to affect change in the world around me.”
Goldsmith spoke to The Panther about his passion for education and how historically, science and engineering education has systematically excluded certain identities from participation. In 2017, he became the director of the Grand Challenges Initiative (GCI), which introduces a variety of incoming science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) majors to a two-year project tackling a pressing issue.
“We wanted to imagine a program that inspired and retained a full diversity of students to pursue a future in science and engineering,” Goldsmith said. “We also think that part of that is how you allow students to get their hands dirty and set things on fire and break glass and make things from the first day that they’re on campus. Emphasizing that joy and creativity and the potential to make a difference in the world around you from day one is a really important part of that program.”
The program is now co-directed by Schmid professors Tom Piechota and Javier Espeleta. Goldsmith and Espeleta first met over 20 years ago when Espeleta was the director of the Tropical Science Center, which managed the Monteverde Cloud Biological Reserve in Costa Rica. This is where Goldsmith was conducting research and developing a science education tool called Canopy in the Clouds (CIC). Espeleta helped develop a Spanish version of the CIC web portal and remained in touch with Goldsmith until meeting again at Chapman to work with GCI.
Espeleta told the Panther that Goldsmith’s perspective, experience and empathic personality make him the ideal mentor for the thousands of students he’s been able to impact.
“Dr. Goldsmith is a modern-time Renaissance man, and one of the most well-rounded, young persons I know in academia,” Espeleta told The Panther. “He is astoundingly versatile as an accomplished scientist and researcher, educator, project manager and team leader, and verbal and written communicator… His impact at Chapman has been profound and manifold.”
“Dr. Goldsmith is a modern-time Renaissance man, and one of the most well-rounded, young persons I know in academia. He is astoundingly versatile as an accomplished scientist and researcher, educator, project manager and team leader, and verbal and written communicator… His impact at Chapman has been profound and manifold.”
Goldsmith might hold the knowledge to inspire the next generation of ecologists, but one thing that he enjoys most about being a professor is how much his students are able to teach him.
“I think that there’s this perception that professors are these subject matter experts who are there to impart knowledge upon students,” Goldsmith said. “For me, the diversity of perspectives that come with students who have different identities — because of where they were born, the family they grew up around, or the hobbies that interest them — make me think in different ways. I find that to be really compelling and gratifying and fun.”
Goldsmith is currently researching the best educational methods to ensure equitable and inclusive educational experiences for all students who want to study ecology. His publications are available to view on his website.
