Every year, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation awards around 20 Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Awards to internationally renowned researchers from abroad in recognition of their outstanding research achievements. The award bears the name of the German astronomer and mathematician Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel (1784-1846) and is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
New award recipient Amy Marshall-Colon develops models that show how plants respond to environmental perturbations considering their genetic characteristics. "Amy Marshall-Colon's research activities are outstanding, particularly her achievements in developing mathematical multiscale models to analyze gene-by-environment interactions," emphasizes Prof. Dr. Frank Ewert, Principal Investigator at the Cluster who has nominated her for the award. The agricultural scientist has already collaborated with the plant biologist.
Among other things, Marshall-Colon investigates how plants take up nitrogen fertilizer even under higher temperatures due to climate change, which then does not end up as a pollutant in the air or water. To that end, she is exploring the underlying genetic and molecular mechanisms. Her models are constructed to lead to a better understanding of plant growth processes and to support the breeding of crops that can withstand stressful environments.
Research field is of interest to various disciplines
In recent years, Amy Marshall-Colon has already given various lectures in the context of the PhenoRob Seminar Series and the Cluster’s flagship conference DigiCrop 2020. "What's special is that her presentations resonated not only with a small group of specialists but also with a wider audience of scientists from diverse disciplines," says Chief Administrative Officer Dr. Nora Berning. For her, it is clear that Marshall-Colon’s research topic attracts researchers from various fields: genetics, plant biology and crop physiology as well as geodesy, photogrammetry and robotics, soil sciences, and agricultural policy. All these disciplines are represented within PhenoRob - with the overarching goal of exploring new ways to grow crops and manage fields sustainably.
About the person:
Amy Marshall-Colon is Professor of Plant Biology at the University of Illinois in the US and previously conducted research at New York University and Purdue University in West Lafayette (USA). She has already received numerous grants and awards and has published her research results in high-ranking journals for years.
The PhenoRob Cluster of Excellence - Robotics and Phenotyping for Sustainable Crop Production
PhenoRob is one of six Clusters of Excellence at the University of Bonn and is carried out in cooperation with the Forschungszentrum Jülich. It is the only Cluster of Excellence in Germany in the field of agricultural sciences. The project started on January 1, 2019 and will run until the end of 2025, with the possibility to receive funding for another seven years. The Clusters of Excellence are part of the excellence strategy of the federal and state governments and are funded by the German Research Foundation. PhenoRob is led by two spokespersons, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Heiner Kuhlmann and Prof. Dr. Cyrill Stachniss. More information can be found on the official website: www.phenorob.de
Contact:
PhenoRob Cluster of Excellence
University of Bonn
Dr. Nora Berning, Chief Administrative Office
Phone: +49 228 73 60819
Email: nberning@phenorob.de