Biosphere Project. Roy Walford, pathologist at UCLA and one of the eight inhabitants of the Biosphere, seen in the rain forest 'biome'. Walford has been involved in the Project since 1983, and has set up the Biosphere's medical centre. As the building is both air- and water- tight, the seals will only be broken in severe medical emergencies during the two-year duration of the experiment. Biosphere is a privately-funded project investigating the interaction of humans in a small self-sufficient environment and the possibilities for future planetary colonisation.