UA Receives $50 Million NSF Grant

The largest National Science Foundation grant ever received in Arizona was awarded to the UA – $50 million for a five year project called the iPlant Collaborative. Administered by the BIO5 Institute, it will create a global center and computer infrastructure to unite plant scientists, computer scientists and information scientists from around the world to answer questions of global importance. “This project is collaborative – designed by the scientific community, for the community,” says UA plant sciences professor, BIO5 member and iPlant director Richard Jorgensen, “and will change the way we do science.” All iPlant projects will offer programs for school-aged children, undergraduate and graduate students and interested lay people.