News Releases

An October dedication of the University of Tennessee’s state-of-the-art plant biotechnology research building will feature a symposium related to tree biotechnology and genomics. Session topics will range from pine genomics to plant pathology and gene regulation and expression in woody plants.

Planned for Friday, October 17, 2003, the keynote speaker for the symposium will be Tuskegee University’s C. S. Prakash, director of Tuskegee’s Center for Plant Biotechnology Research. Prakash is internationally known for his research on food crops and for his opinions and outreach efforts regarding the impact of biotechnology on society and the world’s food supply. He has given presentations in more than 30 countries and is the recipient of many prestigious awards. Prakash moderates a popular Internet forum, AgBioView (http://www.agbioworld.org) to promote discussion on technical, societal and ethical issues related to agricultural biotechnology.

The building dedication, which includes a tour and faculty and graduate poster presentations, is scheduled for Thursday, October 16.

Registration for the symposium is free of charge, but limited to the first 120 that apply. All presentations will feature invited speakers; however, scientists, post-doctoral students, graduate students and advanced undergraduates are invited to submit posters for consideration.

The new UT facility is being built in the heart of the Institute of Agriculture campus in Knoxville. It will house research programs that focus on agricultural and environmental resources, plant breeding and genetics, plant and plant-stress physiology, pest management, molecular biology, and renewable energy. Labs equipped with the latest instruments will serve more than 40 faculty members and their graduate and postdoctoral students, said Dr. Jack Britt, UT vice president of agriculture and acting dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources and Tennessee Agricultural Experiment Station.

“Scientists from various disciplines will share specialized equipment, central service laboratories and plant growth chambers to discover solutions to benefit agriculture, our natural resources, and society,” Britt said. “Undergraduate and graduate students will learn new techniques in some of the nation’s most advanced laboratories and attend classes in classrooms equipped with the latest instructional technology.”

For more information about the symposium or submitting a poster, contact Dr. Neal Stewart, UT professor and Racheff Chair of Excellence in Plant Molecular Genetics, 865-974-7324, e-mail nealstewart@utk.edu,or Dr. Robert Trigiano, UT professor of plant pathology, 865-974-7135, e-mail rtrigian@utk.edu. You may also visit the symposium Web site: http://www.biotechsymposium.utk.edu.

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Contact: Patricia McDaniels, (865) 974-7141