9553030 Deng This is a NSF Presidential Faculty Fellow Award. Through photosynthesis, light provides the energy source for plants and, ultimately, for all living organisms. In response to a fluctuating environment, nonmotile plants are able to sense varying light signals and to optimize growth and development. Higher plants possess sophisticated photosensory and largely uncharacterized signal transduction and itegration systems to monitor the direction, quantity and quality of light signals and to adjust their growth and development accordingly. This award will enable Dr. Deng to pursue those research directions which are important to understand the molecular and cellular mechanisms of light control of plant development, and to explore new research directions as science dictates. As a Presidential Faculty Fellow, Dr. Deng is expected to be involved in the training of the next generation of scientists and in activities that will increase scientific literacy of undergraduate student populations.
