Recipient Organization
GORDON RESEARCH CONFERENCES, INC
512 LIBERTY LN
WEST KINGSTON,RI 02892-1502
Performing Department
Ecology & Evoluntionary Biolog
Non Technical Summary
A rapidly growing demand for food is already having an impact on human societies on a global scale, including in the U.S. As such, scientists have been presented with a grand challenge: To determine how to more efficiently convert carbon into food to feed an ever-growing human population. To accomplish this, a new "green revolution" is needed that surpasses the rate of current crop productivity. Thus, improving photosynthetic CO2 assimilation is central to this goal. The Gordon Research Conference (GRC), CO2 Assimilation in Plants from Genome to Biome, and the associated early-career GRS (Gordon Research Seminar), are among the most critical forums for bringing together world-class plant scientists, from early to late-career stages to make critical advances on this grand challenge. This GRCwill be held in Newry, Maine from June 9-14, 2019, and a highly impactful program has been planned to help spear-head advancements in photosynthesis research. Our main objective is to bring together early-career and senior scientists to facilitate the exchange of new ideas and to discuss the latest advancements in CO2 assimilation and photosynthesis more generally. For the USDA, these topics directly align with the priority area of Physiology of Agricultural Plants with high overlap to the program area priority, Photosynthetic efficiency, carbon assimilation, and source-sink relationship, as well as several other priorities. USDA funding will be used to reduce registration and travel costs for postdoctoral and graduate students, GRC and GRS speakers and discussion leaders, with priority given to early-career scientists.
Animal Health Component
25%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
75%
Applied
25%
Developmental
0%
Goals / Objectives
Understanding the dynamics of carbon exchange between the atmosphere and the biosphere, along withfoundational research on photosynthesis,has moved well beyond the realm of onlyscientists and into that of national security with respect to food demands. Most of this discussion centers around the CO2 molecule, since its rate of release into the atmosphere is exceeding its capture rate. In the last several years, this has resulted in atmospheric CO2 levels increasing above 400 ppm, which over the long-term has resulted in environmental changes and altered plant productivity and functioning. In addition, multiple reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have highlighted the severity and urgency of these issues (IPCC 2013), including the most recent reports that indicate a global warming of 1.5 °C by 2030. Along with this,there continues to be anincreasing demandfor food production in order to support an ever-growinghuman population. The nexus between food and fuel demand is also already having an impact on many societies, including the United States, and alterations in climate are exacerbating this problem. As such, scientists have been presented with a grand challenge: Todetermine how to more efficiently convert carbon into food in order to feed a growing global population and tomaintain food security in the U.S. overthe long-term.To accomplish this, a new "green revolution" that surpasses the rate of current plant productivity is required. Most importantly, improving photosynthetic CO2 assimilation is central to this goal. The Gordon Research Conference (GRC), CO2 Assimilation in Plants from Genome to Biome, and the associated early-career Gordan Research Seminar (GRS) are among the most critical forums for bringing together the top plant scientists in the world, from early- to late-career stages to make critical advances on addressing this grand challenge. Our subtheme for this conference is Innovations in Photosynthesis to Solve Global Challenges which encompasses the goal and utility of photosynthesis research in addressing the energy demands of our nation. Drs. Joy Ward (University of Kansas) and Martin Parry (Lancaster University, UK) are the chairs of the upcoming meeting and are planning a highlyimpactful program that is expected to be transformative inthe field. In 2019, this conference will be held in Newry, Maine from June 9-14, 2019, and we are currently in the final stages of solidifying a highly impactful and innovative program for this conference.Our 2019 GRC, along with the associated GRS, CO2 Assimilation in Plants from Genome to Biome, with the sub-theme of Innovations in Photosynthesis to Solve Global Challenges, has a major long-term goal of bringing together early-career scientists with world leaders who are advancing our understanding of plant photosynthesis at the highest levels. At this meeting, graduate students and post-doctoral fellows will present and discuss cutting edge research and will develop ideas and collaborations that will guide and support research on the carbon side of photosynthesis for years to come. The support of early-career scientists thorugh the USDA for attendance at both the GRC and GRS meetings will help drive the development of photosynthesis research that will benefit our country and will have implications for maintaining food security in our country for generations to come.
Project Methods
A special characteristic of this Gordon Research Conference (GRC) and the associated Gordon Research Seminar (GRS)compared with many meetings in the plant sciences is its relatively small size with approximately 100-150 conferees, ranging from beginning graduate students and postdoctoral associates to leading senior plant scientists. At this size, meeting participants will interact with the majority, if not all, of the other attendees. This allows for open and forward-thinking in an informal, friendly, and highly supportive setting. Open dialogues are encouraged by the GRC and GRS regulations that mandate that all presentations made at the conference are "off the record"; thus, no publications, citations, or press releases can emerge from this meeting (although representatives from the journals Science and Nature and federal funding agencies do attend these meetings and are welcome at this forum). With the extended discussion time and the encouragement to challenge dogma when necessary, it is unlike any other meetings in the U.S. or abroad for photosynthetic research. An additional important feature of the conference is that there are "late-breaking topics" slots for early-career scientists and for the most cutting-edge findings. The speakers for these spots will be selected from submitted abstracts and will provide an opportunity for early-career scientists to present emerging data and to "test drive" hypotheses in a highly collegial and supportive environment.At our last GRC in 2017, we held a "Power Hour" for the first time to support the professional development of women in the plant sciences by providing an open forum for discussion and mentoring. This optional informal gathering was open to all meeting participants. It was an overwhelming success in that it was attended by over 50% of the attendees (with half of these being men, whereas the average for GRC conferences for men is 30%). This session involved candid and open discussions about overcoming extrinsic and intrinsic bias against women and minority scientists in the workplace, and involved an engaging and fruitful discussion with high levels of participation by both women and men.For the newly proposed meeting, we will again hold a "Power Hour" at the 2019 GRC, and we expect it to be as well attended as last year, if not even more highly attended. This past year has been met with a number of reports from major agencies that have addressed the challenges facing women in the sciences. This includes the National Academy of Sciences report entitled, Sexual Harassment of Women: Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2018). Such reports have documented the negative impacts that harassment can have on the careers of women in the sciences. We are again committed in the 2019 GRC to allow ample time during our meeting to address the challenges that women and underrepresented scientists face, to raise awareness about the impacts of bias and harassment on women and minority's careers, and to discuss the negative impacts that these actions can have on the entire scientific community. We expect a high level of attendance and engagement in this session, mainly as a result of the groundwork laid in the 2017 GRC. It should also be noted that a 2019 GRC chair (Ward) and co-chair (Lawson) are both highly successful women in the plant sciences and will serve as role models at this session and throughout the meeting for early-career scientists and to set an example of leadership in the plant sciences.