Plants do amazing things.

We want to understand the biology behind those amazing abilities and put them to work making the world better.

We study the remarkable biology behind how plants sense and respond to their environment and how we can put those capabilities to work solving real-world problems.

Are rare earth elements part of biology?

Rare earth elements aren’t considered biologically active in plants. Yet some plants accumulate extraordinary amounts of them. We want to know what they’re doing with them and whether REEs play biological roles we haven’t recognized.

REE BIOLOGY →

How does time affect plant responses?

The environment changes in predictable cycles over the course of a day and throughout the year. Plants use these recurring patterns to coordinate their biochemistry and physiology and fine-tune their responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. We study how the circadian clock shapes plant responses to the environment and how those responses are affected by changing climate patterns.

TIME + ENVIRONMENT →

How can plants recover the materials we need?

Plants are remarkably good at capturing and concentrating materials from their environment. We’re exploring whether those abilities can become new ways to recover critical materials from dilute and low-grade resources.

PLANT BIOMINING →

What happens when plants experience an environment unlike anything they’ve ever seen on Earth?

Space changes some of the environmental cues around which plant biology evolved. We’re using altered gravity and spaceflight to ask how plant timing and environmental responses work when those familiar cues change.

PLANTS IN SPACE →