Conference: Plant Scholars Program - Supporting Exceptional Talent to Solve 21st Century Agricultural Problems

By 2050, the global population will exceed 10 billion, and this population will experience a hotter, drier climate, reduced agricultural productivity, and prevalent food insecurity. Although these future conditions will impact the entire population, they will disproportionately impact impoverished communities, people of color, the Global South, and other marginalized groups. Many of the solutions to mitigate the impact of extreme environments will come from the plant science community. However, to realize the potential of plant research, intensive national and global collaborations among industry, academia, and government are required as well as a community of plant scientists that can adeptly communicate with the general public about agricultural problems across massive dimensions of scale. NSF funds will be used to support activities designed to broaden participation of faculty and students at institutions with minimal or limited research infrastructure at the annual Plant Biology (PB) 2024 conference and associated regional meetings sponsored and organized by the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB). Conference activities are designed to enhance participation and to introduce these scientists to research resources and funding opportunities that will help them connect to the broader plant biology research community year-round. ASPB is a leader in supporting career development opportunities for a wide variety of scientists and is uniquely positioned to contribute toward the goal of creating a more inclusive plant science community and building bridges between scientists and the general public. With NSF support, two programs will be developed and implemented in conjunction with the annual ASPB conference June 22–26, 2024 (Honolulu, HI). Plant Science Saturday has been implemented at the last two national conferences and provides a unique opportunity for plant scientists to interact with the general public. This community event uses hands-on activities to engage families, particularly those with younger children, as a way to spark curiosity and build awareness of how plants positively impact economies, environments, and health. The aim of the Plant Scholars program is to create annual cohorts of constituents that are under-represented in plant biology across multiple axes of diversity (gender, racial/ethnic identity, institution type, etc.) at traditionally 'leaky' transition points in research education and career pathways. Cohorts will receive financial support to attend an ASPB conference and will be connected by networking prior to, during and following the conference, with the group growing yearly with each additional cohort. Supported scientists will be organized into cohorts spanning multiple career stages, promoting mentoring and collaboration. Additionally, professional development and scientific programming will be developed to address challenges faced by subgroups within the cohorts, with this programming being disseminated to all conference attendees and beyond. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.