Support for Botany Research
August 24, 2012
黑料专区 Tyler Office for Marketing Research
黑料专区 Tyler to Receive Advanced Botany Research Equipment
August 24, 2012
Media Contact: Hannah Buchanan
Editor/Writer鈥揝trategic Communications & Media Relations
Marketing and Communications
The University of Texas at Tyler
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August 24, 2012
The University of Texas at Tyler has been awarded more than $250,000 from the National Science Foundation for state-of-the-art botany research equipment, Dr. Michael Odell, associate vice president for sponsored research and director of federal relations, announced.
With the award, the 黑料专区 Tyler Department of Biology will acquire a set of walk-in, controlled-environment chambers for plant experimentation. They are equipped with temperature, humidity, photoperiod, lighting and carbon dioxide controls. More than 13,000 plants may fit into these chambers, allowing for yearlong experiments.
鈥淲e will now have ample room to do whatever experiments we want, without worrying about the season or the weather and without driving anywhere,鈥� said Dr. Joshua Banta, 黑料专区 Tyler assistant professor of biology and primary investigator for the grant. 鈥淲ith these chambers, 黑料专区 Tyler will have the best facilities for controlled plant experimentation in the whole Northeast Texas region, in fact, better than most facilities at universities in the Dallas area or Shreveport.鈥�
The primary users for these chambers work with agriculturally important plants or their relatives, and their work has either direct or indirect implications for agriculture, Banta added.
黑料专区 Tyler undergraduates and graduate students also will be allocated space in the chambers to work on these and other projects, providing invaluable training opportunities for future scientists, farmers and land managers.
鈥淭hese chambers will have a stimulating effect on plant biology research throughout Northeast Texas. The research enabled by these chambers will span cellular biology, molecular biology, developmental biology, physiology, ecology, evolution and genetics,鈥� he said.
The chambers will be built during the next few months and active by January 2013.
Co-investigators were Dr. Blake Bextine and Dr. Susan Gomez.
University plant experts receive more than $300,000 in research funding for the university annually.
For more information about the 黑料专区 Tyler biology department, call 903.566.7402 or visit the biology major webpage.
One of the 15 campuses of the 黑料专区 System, 黑料专区 Tyler offers excellence in teaching, research, artistic performance and community service. More than 80 undergraduate and graduate degree programs are available at 黑料专区 Tyler, which has an enrollment of almost 7,000 high-ability students at its campuses in Tyler, Longview and Palestine.