Light is life for plants; the ultimate source of bioenergy. Light acts as one of the most critical environmental signals regulating growth and development throughout the life cycle of plants. This proposal seeks financial support for the International Symposium on Plant Photobiology (ISPP 2015), an ad hoc biennial conference focused on the structure and function of light receptors, signaling mechanisms, ecological significance and biotechnological applications of photobiology, to be held at The University of Texas at Austin, TX from May 26 to May 31, 2015. Through education of participants in state-of-the-art research developments during daily symposia and poster sessions in a relaxed venue with plenty of free time for informal discussion and mentoring of young investigators, ISPP 2015 seeks to inspire new approaches to tailoring organisms, photoreceptors and light-energy converting catalysts for efficient sustainable food, fiber and energy production applications. ISPP conferences represent a unique niche for the plant photobiology communities worldwide. Leading experts on diverse photoreceptors and their signaling mechanisms, new investigators, and invited participants from associated fields will contribute critical analyses of the current state of their fields, the challenges and opportunities therein and their most recent unpublished discoveries. While the dissemination of ideas from this conference will be encouraged, no formal proceedings publication is anticipated in order to encourage discussion of unpublished results, ideas and new directions.
The broader impacts of the project include integration of research, education and training by soliciting participation of faculty from primarily undergraduate institutions, Ph.D. students and postdoctoral fellows with a focus on female and/or a member of an under-represented community. The sessions have reserved slots for oral presentations by early career investigators, who are either invited or will be chosen from the poster abstracts by a committee of established investigators. The conference fee will be covered for these participants and for other meritorious students and postdoctoral fellows based on financial need and/or merit of poster presentation. The International Symposium on Plant Photobiology (ISPP) has a long tradition of bringing together a diverse international network of researchers, linked simply through their shared goals, and a plethora of national and international collaborations that have been spawned by these Symposia.
