Facility
Gamboa
A tropical research community
on the edge of the Panama Canal
A tropical research community
on the edge of the Panama Canal
Studying the forest
from the top down
Based on clues ranging from microscopic pollen samples to massive petrified trees and larger-than-life-sized turtle and crocodile fossils, my lab pieces together millions of years of evidence to reconstruct the deep-time history of tropical ecosystems. I help to build international networks of...
As Director Emeritus of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, a unit of the Smithsonian Institution headquartered in Panama City, Panama, I retired in June, 2020 from the job of managing more than 400 employees, an annual budget of $35 million, and the institute’s research facilities ...
The Winter lab studies how tropical plants, particularly trees, function and interact with their environment. We explore plant function in the field and under controlled conditions, at the whole organism level and at the level of individual organs, combining physiological, biochemical and...
Exploring the tropical peoples
and ecosystems of the past
Lower atmospheric carbon and cooler temperatures may have contributed to the domestication of corn, a new study shows.
A Smithsonian emeritus scientist takes a field trip to some of Panama’s most important known marine fossil deposits for a quick lesson the age of the Ithsmus of Panama.
Panama’s infamous canal grass rises from the ashes of fire much faster than trees, complicating reforestation efforts.
How will tropical forests respond to a warmer climate with higher atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations? By growing plants in geodesic domes, Smithsonian scientist Klaus Winter is seeking answers.