Forward into the past. In more ways than one, molecular evolutionist Alan Cooper is going back to his roots. Leading the new Australian Centre for Ancient DNA at the University of Adelaide will be a homecoming of sorts for the New Zealander, former head of the Ancient Biomolecules Centre at the University of Oxford, U.K. The new post also gives him a better shot at obtaining intact DNA from the puny human species Homo floresiensis, who lived in neighboring Indonesia about 18,000 years ago. "It's going to be bloody difficult with that heat," he says. "However, the importance of the material is huge, and we'll throw every trick in the book at it." The $1.2 million center, set to open in December, will be better than the Oxford lab and rivaled by few in the world, Cooper says. One project already in the works involves handling the ancient DNA portion of the Genographic Project, an international effort to reconstruct past human migrations. A couple months after Cooper announced his plans to leave Oxford, the university began an investigation into possible misconduct involving one of his grant applications. Cooper says the investigation ended in March with no action taken. Oxford officials would not comment on the outcome, and there's no word on Cooper's successor. CREDIT: XULONG LAI

Grand challenge. Chip Groat resigned last week as director of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to lead a new energy and environmental policy institute at the University of Texas, Austin. Groat, 65, is credited with burnishing the reputation of USGS since taking over in 1998. "He brought more attention to the value of the USGS," says Linda Rowan of the American Geological Institute in Alexandria, Virginia, a move that also protected the survey's budget. Groat had previously held academic positions in Texas and Louisiana that focused on energy resources and the environment. The new institute, he says, "is a chance to get really involved with science and policy matters on a grand scale." Pat Leahy, the survey's associate director for geology, has been named acting director. CREDIT: USGS