News

10-5-99

Contacts:
Colin Scanes, Plant Sciences Institute, (515) 294-1823
Karen Bolluyt, Agriculture, (515) 294-3701
Steve Sullivan, News Service, (515) 294-3720

ISU PLANT SCIENCES INSTITUTE HOLDS INAUGURAL LECTURE EVENT

AMES, Iowa -- A lecture series and gift announcement will highlight the inaugural colloquium of Iowa State University's Plant Sciences Institute on Saturday, Oct. 16.

The colloquium will be from 8:15 a.m. – 1 p.m. in Kildee Hall. The event is free and open to the public.

The ISU Plant Sciences Institute consists of a group of research centers that focus on a variety of areas in the plant sciences, including plant genomics, designer crops, bioinformatics and gene research. The institute was recently approved by the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, and has received more than $2 million in funding from the Iowa Legislature over the past two years.

At 8:45 a.m., ISU President Martin Jischke will announce a major gift for a Plant Sciences Institute research center. The announcement will be in the Kildee Hall atrium.

Colin Scanes, interim director of the Plant Sciences Institute, will speak on "Plant Sciences at Iowa State for the New Millenium," at 9:10 a.m. in Lush Auditorium.

A series of brief lectures by Plant Sciences Institute research center directors and ISU faculty will follow Scanes' comments.

Lecture program, 9:30 – 10:30 a.m., Lush Auditorium

Advances in Traditional Plant Breeding," Arnel Hallauer, professor of agronomy and director of the Center for Plant Breeding.
Adding Value to Advances in Plant Sciences," Lawrence Johnson, professor of food science and human nutrition and director of the Center for Crops Utilization Research.
High-Throughput Mapping Technologies for Maize Genomics," Pat Schnable, professor of agronomy and director of the Center for Plant Genomics and the Center for Plant Transformation and Gene Expression.
A Vision for Plant Stress Management," Charlotte Bronson, professor of plant pathology and interim director of the Center for Plant Responses to Environmental Stresses.

Coffee and poster session, 10:30 a.m., Kildee Hall Atrium

Lecture program, 11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m., Lush Auditorium.

Crops as Chemical Factories – Opportunities and Challenges," Basil Nikolau, professor of biochemistry, biophysics and molecular biology and director of the Center for Designer Crops.
Gene Identification by Sequencing – Recent Progress for Maize," Volker Brendel, associate professor of zoology and genetics.
Plant Transformation and Gene Expression for the New Millenium," W. Allen Miller, professor of plant pathology.
Quality Seeds to Feed the World – The Role of the Seed Science Center," Manjit Misra, professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering and director of the Seed Science Center.

The colloquium will conclude with a complimentary lunch in the ISU Judging Pavilion. Lunch reservations can be made by contacting Sandra Gartz, Office of Vice President for External Affairs, (515) 294-7730; smgartz@iastate.edu. Reservations should be made by Oct. 13.

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