Conference: 15th International Conference on Arabidopsis Research, to be held in Berlin, Germany, July 2004

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This project will provide support for the 15th International Conference on Arabidopsis Research to be held at the Estrel Convention Center in Berlin, Germany, July 11th to 14th, 2004. The aim is to provide an opportunity for the exchange of ideas among researchers of the international Arabidopsis community. The conference will include sessions on development, cell biology, interaction with the environment (abiotic and biotic), natural variation and comparative genomics (including genome evolution and adaptation), metabolism, genetic mechanisms, novel tools, techniques, and resources, modeling / the virtual plant / bioinformatics, and non-Arabidopsis (limitations of the Arabidopsis model) research. An important component of the conference is that approximately 36 speakers will be chosen from submitted abstracts for short talks. Graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, or principle investigators at early stages of their careers will give the majority of these talks. This will ensure presentation of the latest results and provide important career development for the selected speakers. Broader Impacts: A key component in the synergistic interactions among Arabidopsis research labs has been the opportunity to meet and share research with colleagues from around the world. The Annual Conference on Arabidopsis Research has proven to be a highly effective venue for this purpose. Of course, the meeting also provides a vehicle for dissemination of research performed on Arabidopsis out to the broader community of plant scientists, including those who work with crop species. Ensuring the participation of scientists from diverse backgrounds is critical to the vitality of science in the United States. In the past this conference has had good success in attracting women and young scientists as session chairs, speakers and participants, and will continue to emphasize participation of these groups at all levels. A key goal is to increase participation among minority scientists. To achieve this objective, the conference organizers will undertake significant, new approaches to foster participation of underrepresented minority researchers and scientists from minority-serving institutions.