The founding director of the Quebec Centre for Biodiversity Science, Gonzalez’s pioneering research focuses on the causes and consequences of biodiversity loss, with an emphasis on how ecological connectivity, rapid evolution and environmental change shape the persistence, functioning and resilience of ecosystems.

Valued at US$2.7 million over five years, the award will support Gonzalez’ project, “A Mesoscale Theory of the Biosphere”. Gonzalez and his team will tackle a critical blind spot in our understanding of biodiversity loss by focusing on the “mesoscale”, the networks of connected ecosystems that link local environments to the global biosphere.

The team will combine insights from biodiversity and ecosystem science with network theory and Earth system approaches to examine how patterns of connectivity can either stabilize ecosystems or make them more vulnerable to disruption.

Using global datasets, the team will develop new tools to detect hidden systemic risks and identify when ecological networks provide “spatial insurance” or, conversely, enable contagion, synchronization or cascading failure. The goal is to generate practical ways to assess biosphere stability and guide efforts to protect the connections that sustain life on Earth.

“I am so grateful to the NOMIS Foundation for this extraordinary support and honour,” said Professor Gonzalez. “For me, this work will extend a long-standing commitment to uncover the fundamental dynamics of life on Earth—the patterns and processes that sustain species and ecosystems—and to ensure that this knowledge helps to guide conservation, restoration, and the stewardship of the natural world.”

Gonzalez is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, co-chair of the Group Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network (GEO BON), co-chair of the IPBES assessment on monitoring biodiversity, and co-founder of Habitat, a biodiversity consultancy based in Montreal. He is an ISI Highly Cited Researcher, a distinction given to the top 0.1% of researchers worldwide across 21 research fields.

In 2025, Gonzalez received McGill University's President’s Prize for Public Engagement through Media – Changemaker Award, recognizing the impact of his many years of work on biodiversity science.

NOMIS is a Swiss private nonprofit foundation dedicated to advancing human progress by enabling high-risk basic research at the intersection of disciplines. The Foundation’s vision is to “create a spark” in the world of science by enabling pioneering research in the natural sciences, social sciences and the humanities that benefits humankind and our planet.

The NOMIS Distinguished Scientist and Scholar Award is presented to researchers who have made a significant contribution to their respective fields through groundbreaking, interdisciplinary research.

The 2026 NOMIS Awards will be presented in Zurich, Switzerland, this October.