You know what they say about Missouri weather: Don’t like it? Wait 20 minutes, and it will change. Or: Missouri weather is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re gonna get.
But how do the state’s extreme highs and lows, year after year, affect the people and the plants living here?
Soon we might have answers.
The National Science Foundation is giving $20 million to Missouri scientists for a project called “The Missouri Transect: Climate, Plants and Community.” Researchers from Mizzou and eight other institutions will study the agricultural, ecological, economic and social effects of the state’s climate variability — the way our climate fluctuates above or below a long-term average year to year.
Tigers Take the Lead
Within the research consortium, Mizzou is playing a vital role.
Working with , a team of Mizzou grant writers wrote the grant for the funding, which comes from the NSF’s Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).
Mizzou biology professor is the project’s principal investigator. An award-winning researcher, Walker has held leadership positions in Mizzou’s Interdisciplinary Plant Group, Proteomics Center and Bond Life Sciences Center. Currently he is the director of the .
Walker’s research focuses on cellular signaling in plants — a process affected by extreme weather.
Reviewed 2014-08-06