The Center for Plant Science Innovation
is an interdisciplinary research and training program in the basic plant sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Outstanding research facilities and an interdisciplinary graduate program complement an excellent group of faculty with research strengths in several areas of plant biology research.
Faculty research emphases include
plant-microbe interactions, plant signaling and organellar biology, abiotic and biotic stress responses, and genomics/proteomics. The George W. Beadle Center for Genetics Research affords state of the art research facilities and an array of core facilities, including proteomics, genomics, plant transformation, microscopy, bioinfomatics and flow cytometry, to provide student and postdoctoral trainees with a phenomenal environment in which to conduct research.
The plant research community at UNL allows for a host of productive collaborations and outstanding postdoctoral opportunities. These include plant breeding programs that incorporate modern technologies for crop improvement, an excellent ecology and evolution group that integrates an understanding of plant function to their natural environment, and an array of faculty investigating the food safety, environmental impact, and economic implications of agricultural biotechnology.
Recent News
Brand: 'Wild and Woolly' Times for Genetic Engineering
The world is entering a "wild and woolly" time of genetic engineering of food, when some of the most significant advancements may come from "amateur biotech" practitioners and in the developing world, says Stewart Brand, a self-described ecopragmatist and founder of the "Whole Earth Catalog."
Brand spoke at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Tuesday night as part of the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources Heuermann Lecture series. Brand, who acknowledges he's "having great fun being a heretic" among environmentalists, said genetic engineering is critical to feeding an expanding world population. He describes those who oppose genetic engineering as "superstitious, anti-science and, by the way, very harmful."
As an example, he cited golden rice, a new genetically modified rice that contains beta carotene, a source of Vitamin A critical to children's nourishment. Planting of the rice was delayed for a decade by opponents; it's only now being planted in the Philippines. Another genetically modified type of rice can "breathe under water for two weeks," which would make it invaluable in countries like Bangladesh, which experience severe flooding that now wipes out crops. Read full IANR article. Article from Lincoln Journal Star.
New Plant and Soil Sciences eLibrary Offers Worldwide Collaboration
An expanded Plant and Soil Sciences eLibrary website will give students, adult learners, teachers and industry a place to learn interactively and globally. The new site at passel.unl.edu offers more collaborative tools and uses social media to accompany its animations, lessons and wealth of information and course materials, said Deana Namuth-Covert, plant science educator and eLibrary director. Namuth-Covert said the new site will give its current users a place to work together and share ideas. In addition, the site has a new look and new tools to continue drawing in users from across the state, country and world. The Plant and Soil Sciences eLibrary is on Facebook and Twitter @eLibrarypro. Full Article.
Nebraska Has Key Role in Addressing Global Food Needs
Nebraska is at the epicenter of the challenge of increasing food production to meet the needs of a world population expected to reach more than 9 billion people by 2050, said Ronnie Green, the vice chancellor of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Ronnie Green was the keynote speaker at the Heartland Transatlantic Conference on Food and Fuels Monday morning at the State Capitol. Diplomatic officials from countries including France, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic and Estonia have joined Nebraska representatives at the conference, which focuses on the vital role Nebraska agribusiness and research plays in meeting the global demands for food and fuels. View article.
2011 Plant Science Symposium
The 2011 Plant Science Symposium was held October 14 at the Sheldon Museum of Art on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus. Attendees enjoyed a day filled with renowned plant experts and discussion on plant signaling in response to abiotic & biotic stress.
More about this event.
Assistant Professor Gilles Basset named a recipient of the Junior Faculty Excellence in Research Award
This honor attests to the excellence of Gilles Basset's research program and to the potential that he has to make outstanding contributions in the future. The Junior Faculty for Excellence in Research award is presented by the Agricultural Research Division in the Institute of Agricultural and Natural Resources. More about the award.
