Plant growth chambers to support a new Phytotron Core Research Facility

该提案要求资金购买三个植物生长室，以支持莱斯布里奇大学的一个新的人工气候室核心研究设施。新的生长室将有助于更换陈旧的设备，并减少研究人员遇到的一个主要限制，即缺乏能够保持对温度和光照强度的精细控制的植物生长设施，这是许多实验所需的，但在温室或生长室环境中无法实现。这些房间是我们大学校园日常使用的必需品。 这七名共同申请者是生物科学系的核心成员，该系的研究涉及广泛的主题和目标，包括作物改良和食品安全、发现和开发具有重要医学价值的植物次生化合物、植物发育控制、生态学和进化生物学的基本过程，以及珍稀植物的保护和恢复。团队成员和研究项目是最高素质的，团队拥有有效操作所需设备的专业知识和研究资金。植物生长室的使用将在人工气候室核心研究设施内得到有效管理，日常操作由生物系内的一名讲师协调。这个人工气候室核心研究设施将完全获得L大学设施部的技术支持，以及在所要求的暗室维护和维修方面具有专业知识的当地承包商。所有需要我们校园内植物生长设施的研究人员(按成本回收原则)都可以使用这些实验室。所要求的设备对我们培训高素质人员至关重要。生物科学系最近在为研究生和本科生启动和开发优秀的新培训计划方面取得了几项重要成功，包括在我们的理科学位计划中设立了一个新的研究实习重点。我们的学生需要合作项目和在行业和政府的全职工作，许多人继续深造和专业课程。

This proposal requests funds to purchase three plant growth chambers that will support a new Phytotron Core Research facility at University of Lethbridge. The new growth chambers would contribute to replacement of obsolete equipment, and reduce a major limitation encountered by researchers, lack of plant growth facilities that can maintain fine control of temperature and light intensity that is required for many experiments, but not possible to attain in a greenhouse or growth room environment. The chambers are required for daily use on our university campus. The seven co-applicants are core members of the Department of Biological Sciences whose research spans a breadth of topics and goals, including crop improvement and food security, discovery and development of medically-important plant secondary compounds, control of plant development, fundamental processes in ecology and evolutionary biology, and the conservation and recovery of rare plants. The team members and research programs are of the highest quality, and the team has the expertise and research funds to effectively operate the requested equipment. The use of the plant growth chambers would be managed effectively within the Phytotron Core Research Facility, with day-to-day operations coordinated by an Instructor within the Biology Department. This Phytotron Core Research facility will have full access to technical support from the U of L Facilities Department, as well as local contractors with expertise in maintenance and repair of the chambers requested. The chambers would be available and accessible to all researchers (cost-recovery basis) requiring plant growth facilities on our campus. The requested equipment is fundamentally important to our training of highly qualified personnel. The Department of Biological Sciences has recently had several important successes in initiating and developing outstanding new training programs for graduate and undergraduate students, including a novel Research Internship Concentration within our BSc degree program. Our students are in demand for co-op programs and full-time employment in industry and government, and many proceed to further advanced studies and professional programs.