The Center for Microbial Ecology was founded in 1989 by the National Science Foundation (NSF) as one of the first eleven Science and Technology Centers in the nation. Research Excellence Funds have been used by the University as a match to the NSF grant. After peer review in the fall of 1994, the NSF has recommended that funding of the Center be renewed and intends to provide $11.3 million over a five-year period that began in February 1995.

The Center has major programs in Research, Graduate Education, Industrial Outreach, and Educational Outreach designed to create new knowledge, facilitate the dissemination of knowledge to the industrial and governmental sectors, help to develop a well-trained work force knowledgeable in microbial ecology, and increase scientific literacy among K-12 students.

The intellectual focus of the Center for Microbial Ecology is to understand factors that influence the competitiveness, diversity and function of microorganisms in their natural and managed habitats. This knowledge is important because microorganisms have major roles in determining global warming, ground water quality, plant and animal health, and organic matter cycling. Further, microorganisms are important to the biotechnology industry and include organisms developed to degrade hazardous chemicals, for the production of pharmaceuticals and for biocatalysis. To ensure a sustainable biosphere and to exploit these microbial processes for economic gain, we must develop a comprehensive understanding of microbial diversity, microbial processes and microbial interactions. This can best be achieved through a multidisciplinary research effort such as that of the Center.

[Source: http://www.cme.msu.edu/CME_DESCRIPTION/CME.description.html]