What is CGRER?

The Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research (CGRER) is a state-funded institute devoted to studying and bettering our environment.
The Center promotes interdisciplinary research on the many aspects of global environmental change. Areas of focus include regional effects on natural ecosystems, environments, and resources, and effects on human health, culture, and social systems.
To accomplish its missions, CGRER awards seed grants, fosters interdisciplinary courses, provides state-of-the-art research facilities, and holds seminars and symposia.
Through these activities, CGRER assists Iowa’s agencies, industries, politicians, and citizens as they prepare for accelerated environmental change.
The Center holds 72 members in universities and institutions across the country. At the University of Iowa, CGRER stresses interdisciplinary involvement with members in 17 different departments.
UI professors Jerry Schnoor and Greg Carmichael co-founded and co-direct the Center.
CGRER rests in the UI’s Iowa Advanced Technology Laboratory, a building designed by famed architect Frank Gehry.
The State Board of Regents established CGRER in 1990. The Center receives funding from a public utility trust fund, as mandated by the State of Iowa’s 1990 Energy Efficiency Act.