4. Groundbreaking of the Evans Plant Growth Facility--Message: UPLB Chancellor Fernando Sanchez, Jr.
Channel: International Rice Research Institute
Date: 2015-01-27

See: http://irri.org/news/media-releases/irri-breaks-ground-for-australia-funded-plant-growth-facility

On the occasion of the groundbreaking ceremony for the Lloyd T. Evans Plant Growth Facility on 27 January 2015, Dr. Fernando C. Sanchez, Jr., chancellor of the University of the Philippines Los Banos, welcomes the building of this structure at the headquarters of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI; http://irri.org). During his remarks, Dr. Sanchez stated: "IRRI is part of UPLB; UPLB is part of IRRI."

The facility will be a state-of-the-art building that will serve as a key international resource and venue for biotechnological research and genetic diversity conservation. Eight controlled-environment glasshouses, controlled-environment plant growth chambers, plant processing and potting laboratories, and a large seed processing and storage facility will dominate the complex. Once operational, the facility will enable the nurture and study of plants, particularly rice, in wide-ranging environments, controlling for temperature, relative humidity, light intensity, photoperiod systems, water management systems, and the precise control of atmospheric gases.

The facility is being constructed with the support of the Government of Australia through the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR; http://aciar.gov.au).