A grant has been awarded to Indiana University under the direction of Dr. Keith Clay to upgrade and expand the plant growth facilities to facilitate research and teaching activities in the Plant Sciences Program. Air conditioning and high intensity lighting will be provided for ten greenhouse rooms totaling 6,537 sq. ft. To make the most efficient use of improved greenhouse space, rolling benches will be installed in these rooms. Additionally, one walk-in growth room and three reach-in growth chambers will be acquired on this grant. Sixteen Plant Sciences faculty, directing a total of 56 graduate students and 30 postdoctoral fellows, will make use of the improved greenhouse facility. Teaching in the plant sciences at the graduate and undergraduate levels is currently impeded by limited plant growth space. Highly controlled growth facilities with more useable space will enhance research programs in several areas of the plant sciences at Indiana University including Plant and Ecosystem Ecology, Plant-Microbe Interactions, Plant Evolutionary Genetics and Plant Molecular Biology/ Biochemistry. Moreover, improved plant growth facilities will enhance teaching activities and facilitate several new educational and recruiting initiatives instituted by the Biology Department, including the recruitment and training of under-represented groups in the life sciences.
