Plants produce more than 200,000 compounds, many unique to the plant kingdom, and represent ?ultimate factories? that operate by using sunlight and CO2 as their primary energy and carbon sources. Recent breakthroughs in ?omics? technologies, functional genomics, systems and synthetic biology have significantly contributed to understanding plant systems. This has expanded the already enormous potential of plant metabolic engineering for sustainable production of high-volume, high-demand commodity type compounds in fast growing, high-yielding plants. Plant Metabolic Engineering is a relatively young field at the interface between engineering, chemistry, biology and mathematics. It requires a new generation of scientists able to integrate knowledge from a diverse range of disciplines to achieve the goal of utilizing plants as reliable and robust sources for the biosynthesis of important chemicals and proteins. To facilitate the interactions of young scientists and researchers, the 2011 Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) on Plant Metabolic Engineering will be held July 24-25, 2011 at the Waterville Valley (NH) conference center immediately prior to the 2011 Gordon Research Conference on Plant Metabolic Engineering (GRC). Funds are requested to support this GRS, which will serve as an ideal platform for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to develop these interdisciplinary interactions and advance the field into new directions. 45 (or more) graduate students and postdoctoral fellows are expected to participate in the GRS. The 2011 GRS will be centered on ?Roundtable Discussions? and opportunities for participants to openly discuss current issues in the field, as well as future directions thus allowing participants to establish ownership of a field, a community and a meeting venue. Participants to the GRS will be expected to stay for the GRC, further enhancing the educational component of this conference. The GRS and GRC will have a significant impact in attracting talented junior scientists to the plant metabolic engineering field.
Broader Impact The Gordon Conferences continue to be considered among the top scientific meetings worldwide, attracting top researchers in settings that are conducive to developing interactions and exploring new horizons. In 2009, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows accounted for 55% of the entire GRC participants (up from 41% in 2007), highlighting the educational impact of this conference on young scientists. In 2011 we expect that the percentage of students and postdocs will be similar if not higher, thanks to the GRS. Concerted efforts will continue to encourage the participation of women, persons with disabilities, and scientists from underrepresented groups. The GRS will provide a unique venue for junior scientists to present their research in a more relaxed setting in front of their peers with diverse backgrounds, learn to evolve new research ideas, and to build a dynamic and interactive scientific community amongst the GRS participants, who are then fully integrated into the larger GRC meeting. Participation in the GRC will offer junior scientists a rare opportunity to interact and establish connections with world-renowned scientists and leaders in plant metabolic engineering. Moreover, these interactions will provide graduate students and postdoctoral fellows with a deeper understanding of plant metabolism, help them to develop their scholastic maturity and integrity and build professional relationships with future colleagues.
The Gordon Research Seminar on PLANT METABOLIC ENGINEERING (GRS) was held at Waterville Valley Resort, Waterville Valley, New Hampshire, July 23-24, 2011. The Seminar was well-attended with 58 participants (attendees list attached). The attendees represented the spectrum of endeavor in this field coming from academia, industry, and government laboratories, both U.S. and foreign scientists, young investigators, and students. Of the 58 attendees, 20 voluntarily responded to a general inquiry regarding ethnicity which appears on our registration forms. Of the 20 respondents, 40% were Minorities – 5% Hispanic, 25% Asian and 10% African American. Approximately 38% of the participants at the 2011 meeting were women. In designing the formal speakers program, emphasis was placed on current unpublished research and discussion of the future target areas in this field. There was a conscious effort to stimulate lively discussion about the key issues in the field today. Time for formal presentations was limited in the interest of group discussions. In order that more scientists could communicate their most recent results, poster presentation time was scheduled. Attached is a copy of the formal schedule and speaker program and the poster program. In addition to these formal interactions, "free time" was scheduled to allow informal discussions. Such discussions are fostering new collaborations and joint efforts in the field. Thank you for your support of this Seminar. As you know, in the interest of promoting the presentation of unpublished and frontier-breaking research, Gordon Research Conferences does not permit publication of meeting proceedings.
