Melinda Smith is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Yale University. She studies the impacts of changes in biodiversity and other global environmental changes on communities and ecosystems, with particular emphasis on understanding patterns and controls of exotic plant invasions in grasslands. Much of her research is conducted at the NSF-funded Konza Prairie LTER site in northeastern Kansas. Dr. Smith served as a member of the Human Dimensions Committee of the NEON Design Consortium (Invasive Species Subcommittee). In 2007 she chaired the “tiger team” that analyzed two Global Change Experiments submitted in response to the NEON Request for Information and focused on objective criteria for deploying a nationwide experiment.