2008 CO2 Assimilation in Plants: Genome to Biome Gordon Research Conference
This project involves support for the Gordon Research Conference entitled "CO2 Assimilation in Plants: Genome to Biome" to be held at the University of New England in Biddeford, Maine on August 17-22, 2008. The international organizing committee has developed a timely program consisting of nine formal sessions and three contributed poster sessions (www.grc.org/programs.aspx?year=2008&program=co2). Consistent with the field's advancing science, the sessions are designed to encourage participants to think beyond their specific research interests. Thus, under the general theme of photosynthetic CO2 assimilation, the 2008 conference covers basic plant research from the molecular through the ecological and environmental levels. As such, the meeting provides a rare opportunity for integration among molecular, cellular and ecological studies and a single venue for researchers from the various sub-disciplines of the 'carbon-side' of photosynthesis. Also included in the program are sessions that address the central role of carbon assimilation by plants for developing a bio-based and carbon-neutral planet. In addition, the program includes an entire session of short talks by early career scientists. The speakers chosen for this session will have the opportunity to present new data and to 'test drive' their hypotheses in a collegial atmosphere. Thus, a critical goal of this conference is to provide support to early-career plant scientists, including graduate students, advanced undergraduate students, postdoctoral researchers and scientists just establishing their laboratories. The participation of junior scientists should be of immense professional benefit to them and will enhance the dynamic, cutting-edge nature of this conference. The information exchange that will occur among the participants is expected to foster exciting new advances in this important field of plant biology; advances that can enhance the sustainability of crop productivity and the preservation of ecosystems facing significant climate changes.
