Plant Sciences Research and Education Pipeline Update


October 2016

A note from Karen Plaut
Karen PlautWelcome faculty, staff and students. This is our first newsletter of the academic year, and we welcome new faculty hired into the Center for Molecular Agriculture. Most of the new faculty started in August but a few are still to come.

We are pleased to share some other great things that have happened in plant sciences since our last update. Most importantly, we completed the plant field phenotyping building and began to use it over the summer. We named the building the Indiana Corn and Soybean Innovation Center in recognition of the $4 million gift received from our commodity partners. This gift not only helped fund the building but also put money into an endowment that will fund research using tools and technology in the new building in perpetuity.

In August, we dedicated the building in front of 300+ guests and had great media coverage. The story was event picked up by Yahoo! News. Immediately following the dedication, we welcomed more than 180 phenotyping experts from 11 countries, 34 companies, 30 academic institutions and a variety of commodity groups, nonprofit organizations and government agencies at a three-day conference on plant phenotyping to establish the North American Plant Phenotyping Network (NAPPN). We united technology users and developers to facilitate opportunities for collaborative research - a perfect example of our emerging leadership in phenotyping and the establishment of this network.

You've probably noticed the plant sciences website has a new look! Our team is continuing to build content and structure, and we welcome your comments.

We are teaming with HUBzero to build an online community for data management, research, collaboration and educational tools. A whiteboard discussion is scheduled for November 14th for faculty input. Stay tuned, and be prepared for a creative brainstorming session on how to better manage data across the board. 


All the best,



Karen Plaut, Ph.D.
Senior Associate Dean for Research & Faculty Affairs
Director, Ag Experiment Station


Expand plant biology 

Faculty recruitment update
We welcomed four new faculty members in August and are excited to welcome two more in January, bringing the total number to six since the last round of interviews. Leonor Boavida and Chris Oakley will be joining the department of Botany and Plant Pathology in January.

Leonor C. Boavida
Research Interests:
Plant reproductive biology focused in the molecular and cell biology of gametes and fertilization; cell-cell signaling; tetraspanins function in plant development
Current Position: Senior Post-Doctoral Fellow, Plant Genomics Lab at Instituto Gulbekian de Ciência, Portugal

Christopher Oakley
Research Interests:
 Ecological and evolutionary genetics of plants; genetic basis of local adaptation; consequences of genetic drift for adaptation and population persistence
Current Position: Senior Research Associate, Department of Plant Biology at Michigan State University

This year's search has begun, and we have received over 225 applications to fill our final three positions. Application review is underway, and we hope to have faculty on campus starting in November for the next round of interviews.


2016 Molecular Agriculture Summer Institute (MASI) Recap
The 2016 Pre-College MASI program welcomed 16 sophomore and junior high school students from all over Indiana to campus June 12 -18. The students spent nearly 20 hours of their week in labs working with research mentors. The Undergraduate MASI Fellowship worked with 11 Purdue students for a 10-week research program and a series of communication sessions.




4-H National Youth Science Day at Indiana Corn and Soybean Innovation Center (ICSC)
On October 5th we hosted 15 high school students from area schools at the Indiana Corn and Soybean Innovation Center as part of 4-H National Youth Science Day. Activities during the day were focused around unmanned systems in agriculture.



Lilly greenhouse renovations underway in ranges 3, 5, and 6
We have renovated three LILY greenhouse ranges; including thorough cleaning, new 600W HPS lighting upgrades from P.L. Lighting and new ARGUS controllers.




Growth chamber room and light renovations
We are wrapping up construction in WSLR B014 and a new 24 x 10-foot Conviron growth chamber will be installed starting October 11th. 



Greenhouse LED lighting vendor presentation
All are welcome to attend a vendor presentation of new LED lighting technology as we constantly look for new ways to improve our greenhouses. In the past LEDs have not been cost effective or capable of producing enough output to grow high light crops indoors. However, the technology has improved and costs are coming down. Some private industries are changing to LED and its time to take a look. Illuminex will present options for the Lilly greenhouses on October 21st at 2 P.M. in LILY 2-425. Please come and join the discussion!


Advanced phenomics curricula for crop research professionals
Project leader, Katy Martin Rainey, along with Co-PIs Bruce Erickson, Dharmendra Saraswat and Tony Vyn are developing phenomics curricula around the activities and resources at the Indiana Corn and Soybean Innovation Center. The curricula will address the gap of limited educational opportunities available to professionals and students in the emerging field of crop phenomics.

The group will host a module-based phenomics workshop March 13 - 14 targeted to crop research professionals involved in predicting yield and characterizing biotic and abiotic stress, as well as engineers involved in developing and using sensors and sensor platforms for application. Contact Katy Martin Rainey for more information.


Dedication held for Beck's Genetics Lab 
A dedication ceremony for the Beck's Genetics Lab and Crops Resource Center was held September 23rd in conjunction with the dedication of the new Beck's Floor for Agricultural Economics. The new genetics lab in Lilly Hall allows more students than ever before at Purdue to take lab and lecture courses simultaneously. It now offers seats for 24 students per lab period, doubling the previous capacity.


Automate Phenotyping

New FAA rules
The FAA has finalized new Small Unmanned Aircraft System (sUAS) rules, which have been almost universally welcomed by the industry. Remote sensing at Purdue was accomplished under a FAA-approved Certificate of Authorization (COA) prior to the new rules. Now, there is much more flexibility in the rules which will reduce workloads and costs. 

Lastly, Part 107 of the new regulations provides waivers for standard operation requirements if the proposed research includes anything outside of routine operations (i.e. waiver for night flight or beyond visual line of sight). As College of Agriculture's unmanned aerial facilitator, Mike Leasure can work with your preferred pilot and investigating team to assure compliance and recommend resources to keep your research on track.


Students to build six new aircraft at a reduced cost
Aviation technology and plant science researchers have identified the need for multiple aircraft that are low cost, reliable, and robust. A small team of aviation students have been tasked to design and build six new fixed wing aircraft. 

Similar commercial offerings run $15,000 and up, while the proposed cost to build is $800 per aircraft ready to fly, without camera. The weight capacity will be about 1.5 lbs to accommodate cameras such as multispectral, hyperspectral, LIDAR, and thermal sensing units. Please contact Jason Adams and Mike Leasure if you are interested in using them at ACRE and Jerry Fankhauser if you are interested in using them at the PACs. 

There are also efforts underway to provide licensed and trained unmanned pilots to support these various operations. Happily, our UAS activities in agriculture are moving forward, expanding, and achieving success in a safe and responsible manner.



Indiana Corn and Soybean Center: Research in Progress
Over 1,500 guests have toured the Indiana Corn and Soybean Innovation Center since its opening. Graduate students and staff have done an excellent job of sharing their research projects during each tour. Users have also done a great job cleaning up after each day.

More and more users, including faculty, are coming in to see what the center has to offer. We are still unpacking some equipment, but we have plenty of room for new users. Training videos are currently being developed and will be available soon. If you are interested in learning more about the opportunities at ICSC, contact Jason Adams.


ICSC Featured Equipment: ALMACO Portable Seed Lab

This heavy-duty portable stand for testing threshed seed is an economical alternative to a small plot combine. This stand-alone unit works great for quick and accurate weight and moisture readings. It is calibrated for soybeans and offers multiple options for data testing and collection.
Spec Sheet


Controlled Environment Phenotyping Facility update
Construction of the Controlled Environment Phenotyping Facility (CEPF) is moving forward. Construction bids came in higher than expected, but the team is committed to delivering a world-class imaging facility and work is ongoing to revise designs. The CEPF will enable researchers to image potted plants, including mature hybrid corn, with hyperspectral imaging and high resolution digital cameras. Our vendors PhenoKey and Aris Systems assure us that this critical functionality will be attained with current budgets. We are working with the vendors to select hyperspectral and RGB camera systems to complete the science we need for plants up to full-height corn. In November, we will schedule a meeting with users to gather feedback about traits they want to measure with these systems. If you are interested in being a part of this group, contact Julie Hickman.


ACRE Master Plan Town Meetings
Faculty, staff and researchers are invited to attend a series of "town hall" style meetings to discuss preliminary steps at ACRE for a Master Plan. We now have the new phenotyping facility, but what's next? What facilities do we need next and why? What about the land? What changes do we need? Join us for an open forum in WSLR 116 from 1:00 - 2:00 PM on the following days.

November 10
General Brainstorming Session

December 1
Building Discussion

December 6
Farm/Land Discussion

Drive Innovation

Purdue dedicated first field phenotyping facility in North America
Dedication ceremonies were held on August 29th for the Indiana Corn and Soybean Innovation Center, a $15 million center supported with a combined $4 million investment from the Indiana Corn Marketing Council and Indiana Soybean Alliance. AgReliant Genetics, Ag Alumni Seed and ALMACO are also key partners on the project.



Purdue and FFAR unite public and private sectors to spur phenomics collaboration
Purdue and co-host Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR), a nonprofit organization that supports innovative science, welcomed more than 180 scientific experts to a three-day meeting on plant phenotyping. The event united plant phenotyping technology users and developers working toward the formation of a North American Plant Phenotyping Network (NAPPN) to enable continued collaboration between public and private sector organizations and individuals. We received excellent feedback and guests found the event to be highly impactful. 



Smarter Agriculture
Plant sciences is teaming with HUBzero to develop an online community for data management, research and educational tools, collaboration, and much more. Purdue's Smarter Agriculture™ platform will serve as a host for plant sciences data and the diverse group who uses it. It will serve as a workplace for scientists to socialize data across disciplines and reduce the need to build individual solutions for data management.
 
This data hub will allow disparate data streams about a plant and its environment to be collected, annotated, and merged into a single secure, shareable package. Each data package will assemble the data streams a researcher might choose to collect, including background genetics, observations by eye, remote imagery, laboratory analysis, environmental conditions, and yield. 

Sound interesting? A whiteboard discussion will be held November 14th. Please contact April Agee Carroll to express your interest.


Foster entrepreneurship

Dan Dawes - New Entrepreneur in Residence with Purdue Foundry
Dan Dawes joined Purdue Foundry earlier this year as an Entrepreneur in Residence
 where he will use his experience in leadership, project management, marketing, and sales to help faculty and students commercialize innovations in plant sciences. 

Dan also serves as Sr. Director of Strategy and Innovation at AgriNovus Indiana which is a catalyst for innovation in the food and agriculture industry. In previous roles at DuPont Crop Protection, he had profit responsibility for company assets aimed at meeting customer needs in crops grown in the Midwestern US leading 80+ members of the Sales Teams and Marketing Managers focused on the value chain throughout the geography. Dan is especially noted for his cross functional efforts to collaborate with the seed unit, DuPont Pioneer, in generating growth strategies for the company. Dan was also a key member of the group that launched the use of Six Sigma project management in DuPont and initiated its use toward generating top line growth.



Semi-finalists announced for Ag-Celerator program

The semi-finalists have been announced for this semester's Ag-Celerator program and will begin working with Purdue Foundry for the chance to be considered as a "finalist" company to pitch to the selection committee in November. Click below to find a list of semi-finalists.



Schurz Innovation Challenge - $10,500 in prizes available
The Schurz Challenge at Purdue is back and offering over $10K in prizes to Purdue students who showcase an innovative technology, idea or prototype at the competition on December 8th. If you have a student working on your team, you qualify to compete! Only one student per team is required. Deadline to enter is November 22nd. 


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Editor: Erin Robinson, Communication & Marketing Specialist
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