Dr Ray Elliott, Syngenta- Book of Condolences

Dear CPPS members

Many of you will have heard about the sad news of Dr Ray Elliott's death earlier this month. Ray has been very supportive of the aims of CPPS, and has been a conduit of information between the CPPS research base and Syngenta. BBSRC are collating a book of condolences, for which I will provide an entry from CPPS, but if you would like to add a person message, please follow the instructions in below.

Best wishes, Beatrix

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You may well already have heard, but Dr Ray Elliott of Syngenta died unexpectedly in his sleep when in the USA earlier this month.

Ray was passionate about bioscience and played an active role in many BBSRC activities and initiatives, both on the ground and at a high level. His involvement with the IBTI Club, PMS Peer Review Committee, Young Entrepreneurs Scheme and Innovator of the Year highlights just some of the many ways he contributed to the breadth of our work and community. He has worked closely with many of us at BBSRC and his support has been very much valued and appreciated. Our condolences go to his friends, family and colleagues. He will be greatly missed.

Whilst some of you may prefer to contact colleagues at Syngenta directly, my executive assistant, Romy Thackeray, is currently coordinating messages and comments to be included in a condolences book. It you would like to include a message, please submit it to Romy by 5th July: Romy.Thackeray@bbsrc.ac.uk.

Dr Celia Caulcott
Director, Innovation and Skills, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Swindon

General events: June 2012

TUE 17th JULY 2012 - Speed dating with scientists

JIC Conference Centre Open to Public - start 18:30

Further information

News: June 2012

Partner News

Rothamsted Research: Providing solutions for food security - Rothamsted Research launches "20:20 Wheat ®"

Scientists at Rothamsted Research have launched a new 20:20 Wheat ® Programme at the UK Cereals 2012 event on 13 June, aiming to provide the knowledge base and tools to increase potential wheat yields in the UK to 20 tonnes per hectare within the next 20 years. It is hoped that this could bring significant economic benefit to UK farmers as every 1 tonne per hectare increase in yield is estimated to be worth £318M per year at the farm gate.

Further information

Partner News

UK PlantSci 2012 Talks now online

Did you miss out on the inagural UK Plant Sciences Federation conference, UK PlantSci 2012? If so don't worry many of the talks are now available online.

Further information

NATIONAL PLANT PHENOMICS CENTRE

On Monday 14 May 2012, the new National Plant Phenomics Centre, which features the most advanced research greenhouse in the UK, was formally opened at Aberystwyth University's Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences. The new Centre is a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) supported national facility and has been developed at a cost of £6.8M.

Further information

MINISTER ANNOUNCES £250M FUNDING FOR THE UK’S BIOSCIENCE

On May 24th, during a visit to the Babraham Research Campus, near Cambridge, Minister for Universities and Science, David Willetts, has announced substantial funding that will ensure the UK's bioscience research base remains globally competitive and at the forefront of meeting the grand challenges faced by society in the coming decades.

Further information

NEW WEBSITE TO SUPPORT WHEAT RESEARCH

A new wheat research information resource was launched on 18th June in a bid to help coordinate worldwide research efforts in the fields of wheat genetics, genomics, physiology, breeding and agronomy. The new website provides a central hub for the Wheat Initiative which aims to coordinate wheat research programmes and contribute to food security across the globe.

View the website

Funding news: June 2012

British Ecological Society: Research Grants

These grants support scientific ecological research where there are limited alternative sources of funding. Small projects can be awarded up to £5,000 and early career ecologists can apply for funding up to £20,000.

Further information

BBSRC: Industrial CASE Studentships

Proposal deadline: 26 July 2012, 4pm. Funding for 90 4-year studentships is available.
CASE studentships (formerly known as 'Collaborative Awards in Science and Engineering') are collaborative training grants that provide students with a first-rate challenging research training experience, allowing top quality bioscience graduates to undertake research, leading to a PhD, within the context of a mutually beneficial research collaboration between academic and partner organisations.

Further information

‘AD and Algae: Closing the Loop’

InCrops and EnAlgae host 'AD and Algae: Closing the Loop'; a networking meeting to introduce opportunities and challenges for coupling AD with growing microalgae. The event will take place on Wednesday 18 July 14:00 -17:30 at Db Conference Rooms, Kempson Way, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk IP32 7AR.

Why couple AD with algae?

• AD produces liquid digestate, CO2 and, if coupled to CHP, low grade heat.
• All these are needed to grow algae.
• Growing algae for feed, chemicals and/or energy applications could add value to AD operations.
• Currently demand for algae outstrips supply, and new business opportunities are emerging.

This FREE event is aimed at anyone interested in either growing algae, or in exploring options for adding value to AD.

It will

• give an overview of the synergies that exist between AD operations and growth of algal biomass
• discuss challenges involved with the recovery and utilisation of AD digester products and the potential benefits if applied to microalgae production
• discuss the practical implications of scaling up the integration of algae production into an AD system
• introduce the variety of commercial and legal aspects that need to be considered
• facilitate building links between AD and algae experts
• showcase the work of the newly launched INTERREG NW Europe Strategic Initiative 'EnAlgae', of which InCrops is a partner

Registration - please contact Julia O'Rourke, InCrops Events Co-ordinator, before 10 July 2012, by email adapt.events@uea.ac.uk or call 01603 591765.

More information.

Event news: May 2012

CPPS-sponsored events:

EPSO "Plant Power" event – summary

On Sat, 19th MAY, CPPS led event, Fascination of plants – Plant power was held at the University Botanical Gardens.

Several hundred visitors of all ages came through on the day and were engaged, educated and entertained with a variety of hands-on activities and displays organised by CPPS members. Visitor participation was high and there is a notable interest from exhibitors in running similar events in the future. A more detailed summary including photographs from the day will be published on the CPPS website in due course.

Next CPPS-sponsored events:

THU 28th JUNE: Breakthrough technology: crops for the future

NIAB Innovation farm, 9:30 – 16:30

This joint NIAB Innovation Farm - CPPS event will explore the contribution of new technology such as hybrids and C4 photosynthesis. The morning session will consist of presentations and single slide poster pitches before heading out to view NIAB Innovation Farm field and glasshouse exhibits.

To find out more visit www.innovationfarm.co.uk. To book visit www.niab.com/shop. ONLY £36 (inc VAT).

If you are interested in presenting a one-slide pitch, have material that you would like to display at the workshop or have ideas for inclusion in the 2013 programme please contact kate.parsley@niab.com.

General events:

WED & THUR 13th & 14th JUNE – Cereals event

Boothby Graffoe, near Leadenham, Lincolnshire
Many CPPS members will be exhibiting at Cereals which is the leading technical event for the UK arable industry with over 64ha of stands and live demonstrations by over 470 leading suppliers and up to 30,000 visitors.
Further information

TUE 19th JUNE - Cultivating food quality (Sponsored by PBL & Seminis)

Visitor centre, NIAB, Huntingdon Road, Cambridge, CB3 0LE, 10.00-16.00
Find out how demand for crops with a range of end-use properties is driving breeders to explore inherent quality traits such as protein type, starch quality, high milling yield and resistance to pre-harvest sprouting.
Further information
To book a place at this event: www.niab.com/shop/item/177
NIAB Innovation Farm is jointly funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), industry and academic partners.

TUE 19th JUNE - ADAS Rosemaund Open Day - Focus on Weed Control & Identification

Burnt House Grain Store, Gatsford, Ross-on-Wye, HR9 7QW (on A449 not far from Ross), 12:00-16:00
FREE event/Hog Roast
Further information

TUE 26th JUNE – Insect Supersense

Rothamsted Conference Centre, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, AL5 2JQ, start 19:30
'How insects use odours to find mates and food and how we can make use of this.' Part of 'National Insect Week'.
Further information

Partner news: May 2012

Science and industry club together to deliver better crops

Three CPPS members have new industry-relevant crop science projects funded as part of the Crop Improvement Research Club (CIRC)

The research is aimed at delivering improvements to the main UK cereal crops - oilseed rape, barley and wheat - so boosting efforts to ensure food security. Nine projects were funded overall - together, they represent an investment of over £4M by BBSRC, the Scottish Government and 14 companies including plant breeders, farmers and food processors.

The three projects by CPPS members are:

• Professor Andy Greenland, NIAB - Production of wheat lacking B-type starch granules
• Professor Peter Shewry, Rothamsted Research - The role of lipids in determining gas bubble retention in wheat dough
• Dr Richard Whalley, Rothamsted Research - Phenotyping root function in wheat

Further information

JOHN INNES CENTRE: Fine mapping wheat genes

Researchers at the John Innes Centre have shown how next generation sequencing techniques can be used in mapping genes more quickly and efficiently than has been possible before.
Further information

ROTHAMSTED RESEARCH: Launch of globally unique farm research platform

A new 'Farm Platform', launched at Rothamsted Research North Wyke in Devon, aims to help farmers to optimise productivity in ways that are sustainable, whilst at the same time understanding the impact of farming methods on the environment. It will bring together scientists from across disciplines and countries to spark new ideas to meet the food security challenge.
Further information

RREs: Plant perfumes woo beneficial bacterial

Scientists at Rothamsted Research have discovered that maize crops emit chemical signals which attract growth-promoting microbes to live amongst their roots. This is the first chemical signal that has been shown to attract beneficial bacteria to the maize root environment. By deepening our understanding of how cereals interact with microorganisms in the soil their research aims to contribute to ongoing efforts to increase cereal yields sustainably to feed a growing world population.
Further information

RRes: Attack on Aphid-resistant wheat trial

An intruder attempted to break into RREs experimental trial on Sunday, 20th May, causing property damage but failing to disrupt the experiment. The individual responsible has been arrested and charged by Police.
Further information