15 year

Since the inception of the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, its slogan has been “where science meets society.” This highlights the institute’s deep commitment both past and present to communicate the research and discoveries happening at the IGB with the public, and promote scientific thinking to encourage a new diverse generation of scientists and science-informed citizens. “We established a comprehensive outreach program within a few years of opening the IGB, for several reasons,” said IGB Director Gene Robinson (GNDP).

One of the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology’s main goals is fostering partnerships between departments across campus to encourage more trans-disciplinary research. Initiatives provide an avenue for this goal, bringing researchers across departments, study systems, and disciplines together and encouraging collaborative research. Here we highlight the initiatives that the IGB has been involved with during the 15 years since its inception.

In honor of the IGB's anniversary, we're revisiting some of the history of our institute over the past 15 years with a series of articles highlighting IGB people, projects, and research.

The Illinois General Assembly officially recognized the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology (IGB) for celebrating fifteen years of genomic research addressing major societal issues in the areas of agriculture, environmental conservation, health, wellness, technology, and society. The IGB houses a broad portfolio of interdisciplinary life sciences research on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus.

In honor of the IGB's anniversary, we're revisiting some of the history of our institute over the past 15 years with a series of articles highlighting IGB people, projects, and research.

Improving crop yields in collaboration with RIPE

Scientists having been breeding plants for over a century with the goal of feeding hungry people across the world. To that end, the Green Revolution in the 1960s used new technologies to increase food production in scale with the population growth. Unfortunately, these increases will not be enough in a few decades.