Purdue, DuPont Pioneer to highlight phenotyping at plant science symposium

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue University graduate students, in partnership with DuPont Pioneer, will discuss “Phenotyping for the Future” at the second annual Purdue Graduate Student Plant Science Symposium Aug. 3.

“Phenotyping has an important future in plant science research,” says Sarah Mueller, chair of the symposium’s student committee. “It is an exciting area that still has a lot of room for advancement. We want to encourage graduate students and staff to think about how they could use phenotyping in their research programs and highlight the research that is already taking place at Purdue.” 

The event is open to the public and registration is required. Featured speakers include researchers from the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Cornell University and DuPont Pioneer. Participants also will be able to observe root phenotyping and corn ear photometry demonstrations. Graduate students and postdoc researchers are encouraged to enter the poster competition, which will feature cash prizes for the top three entries.

The symposium, which is part of the DuPont Pioneer Plant Sciences Symposia series, will take place 8 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Beck Agricultural Center, 4550 U.S. 52 W, West Lafayette. Several travel scholarships are available to help cover symposium expenses.

Jeff Schussler, senior research manager at DuPont Pioneer, will educate participants about precision phenotyping of drought tolerance in maize. He encourages any graduate student interested in plant science to attend the event.

“The DuPont Pioneer Plant Science Symposia provide students with an opportunity for concentrated learning in plant science in a short period of time,” he says. “Student interaction with the speakers provides insight into organizations driving significant plant science research, and can often focus a student towards specific research areas and approaches. It is our hope that this opportunity contributes to the overall understanding of careers in plant science.”

Registration for the symposium and poster competition will be open until July 16. For more information, visit http://bit.ly/2scftTG. 

Writer: Hannah Tucker, tucker84@purdue.edu

Source: Sarah Mueller, smuelle@purdue.edu

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