MRI: Acquisition of a Photosynthesis and Respiration System for Research and Education at Tennessee State University

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。美国国家科学基金会向田纳西州立大学（TSU）授予了一笔赠款，用于购买由便携式光合作用和呼吸系统包组成的最先进的仪器。这套设备包括Li-Cor环境教育基金（LEEF） III包；Li-Cor 4300c型叶面积仪、LAI-2000型植物冠层分析仪；和土壤湿度计。该仪器将用于解决植物生理学、生态学、有机农业和环境科学领域的各种研究问题。具体来说，该仪器将用于研究植物对干旱和洪水等气候变化的反应，以及对草地和农田养分缺乏、土壤呼吸等环境压力的反应。仪器的购买也将使教师和学生能够开展研究项目，否则这些项目将在托国立受到严重阻碍或无法进行。这项拨款将允许PI和TSU的教师生成数据，以加强未来的提案。拟议活动的更广泛影响涉及生态生理学研究和托国立学生的培训。新设备将被整合到本科和研究生阶段的课程中，以丰富学生的研究训练和学习。该设备还将提高pi在生态和环境研究领域吸引和指导代表性不足的少数民族本科生的能力，并为进行独立研究项目的学生提供实践研究经验。用这种设备取得的成果将发表在高影响力的同行评议的科学期刊上，并将在科学会议上提出，以便广泛传播。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).A grant has been awarded by NSF to Tennessee State University (TSU) for the purchase of a state-of-the-art instrumentation consisting of portable photosynthesis and respiration system package. The equipment set includes a Li-Cor Environmental Education Fund (LEEF) III package; a Li-Cor 4300c Leaf Area Meter, an LAI-2000 Plant Canopy Analyzer; and a Soil Moisture Meter. The instrumentation will be used to address a variety of research questions in the areas of plant physiology, ecology, organic farming, and environmental sciences. Specifically, the instrumentation will be used to investigate plant responses to climate change such as drought and flooding, and responses to environmental stresses such as nutrient deficiency, soil respiration in grasslands and croplands. The acquisition of instrumentation will also allow faculty and students to carry out the research projects that would otherwise be significantly impeded or impossible to conduct at TSU. This grant will allow the PI and TSU faculty to generate data that would strengthen future proposals. The broader impacts of the proposed activity relate to both ecophysiological research and the training of students at TSU. The new equipment will be integrated into the curriculum at both undergraduate and graduate levels to enrich student research training and learning. The equipment will also increase the ability of the PIs to attract and mentor under-represented minority undergraduate students in the fields of ecology and environmental studies, and provide hands-on research experience to students conducting independent research projects. Results obtained with this equipment will be published in high impact peer reviewed scientific journals and will be presented at scientific conferences for wide dissemination.